FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2449.PDF
NO TIME TOULOUSE Airbus is working furiously to clear the series of hurdles that must be negotiated before the A380 can make its first flight from Toulouse early next year MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / TOULOUSE Airbus is confident the A380 will fly on schedule early in the new year, but not before it has com pleted a series of detailed tests and evaluations to ensure the aircraft is ready to leave the ground. As engineers work to complete the extensive pre-flight structural- and ground-test pro gramme - now under way using the first two A380s and the static-test specimen - the entire flight-test team is preparing a full dress rehearsal of the A380's maiden sortie as a "virtual first flight" using the simulator linked to the iron bird test rig. In one of the giant hangars at the Jean- Luc Lagardere final assembly site in Toulouse, the first three A380s (manufac turer's serial number (MSN) 001 - the first to fly - 002 and 004) are undergoing sys tems installation and testing at assembly Station 30 (seegraphic). In a building adja cent, the static-test article ("ES" - the first A380 airframe to be completed) has just begun two years of structural testing, but has some critical limit-load capability demonstrations to complete before MSN001 will be allowed to take flight. Assembly of the fourth flight-test A380 (MSN007) began in Toulouse on 18 November, following a hiatus on the line to allow the assembly team to decamp to Dresden, where they have completed structural build of the fatigue-test airframe. Testing on the fatigue airframe will not begin until September 2005, as it is not part of the pre-flight testing, but Airbus aims to have accumulated 5,000h of test ing by the time of A380 certification in the first quarter of 2006. By the time MSN001 has been painted for its formal "reveal ceremony" in Toulouse on 18 January, the aircraft will have undergone six months of test and completion work in preparation for its first flight. This is likely to take place around a month after the unveiling. Assembly of the flight-test aircraft is roughly similar to that of the series pro duction aircraft, although the process has been extended considerably as obviously complex pre-flight systems installation and testing is required. Following structural completion at Station 40, each A380 is backed out of the hangar on its main wheels and moved to Station 30 in another part of the plant where its engines, auxiliary power unit, air conditioning packs and ram air turbine are installed, and system tests are carried out. Development tests Once series production is well under way, this process will take three weeks, but for the flight-test aircraft, in particular MSN001, the process will be a much longer, explains Mark Cousin, head of engineering support to A380 final assembly line and flight test: "As well as the serial tests, which will be per formed on every aircraft, we will also under take development-aircraft-specific tests to prove the correct operation of systems as designed." In all, MSN001 is spending nine to 10 weeks at Station 30, he adds. Cousin gives some examples of the main development tests planned for A380 MSN001. These include function tests for: • flight controls (normal and back-up); • trimming horizontal stabiliser; A380 SERIES PRODUCTION Stati 40 30 18 15 - - Structural assembly Systems integration and testing Fuel and cabin pressurisation •ASSEMBLY PROCESS Production flight tests Ferry-flight to Hamburg Finkenwerder Cabin furnishing Painting Duration 1 week 3 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks 5-6 weeks 2 weeks • braking and steering; • bleed air system; • slats and flaps; • door operation and position sensing. There are also trials of the landing gear, including a fit-check of the wheel and tyre clearances in their bays, and gear exten sion and retraction. "On MSN001 the extend/retract test was initially carried out using an external hydraulic supply, and tests with onboard supply are due to begin on 22 November," says Cousin. Examples of the equipment to be checked during the production tests, which every A380 will undertake at Station 30, are: • electrical generation system; • fuel tank and pipe leakage check using • helium gas; • lights; • APU fire detection and fire extinguish ing systems; • cargo and avionics-bay smoke detection; • engine fire detection and fire extin guishing system; • wing and engine de-icing system. MSN001 now has two of its four Rolls- Royce Trent 900 engines installed, and the other two are ready for installation in the podding facility. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW980 APU will be installed at the end of the Station 30 process. The Trent 900 was certificated on sched ule last month, having taken to the air on Airbus's A340-300 flight testbed aircraft in May. Executive vice-president A380 pro gramme, Charles Champion says the engine has shown "satisfactory behaviour after almost 40 flight hours". He adds that Airbus will use the testbed to carry out icing trials in January, using the natural icing available at that time of year to derisk the icing aspects of the A380 flight-tests. During the installation and testing process at Station 30, MSN001 (and later MSN004) is being equipped with a mini- cabin in a small section of the upper fuse lage. This comprises interior furnishings (sidewalls and ceiling panels), galley, lava tory and overhead stowage bins. Cousin says that most of the flight-test instrumentation has been installed at sec tion level before delivery to the final assembly line. "The system is then con nected and measurements validated on the line," he says. MSN001 is equipped to record 6,000 measurements, with for example a sophis ticated in-flight loads monitoring system using strain gauges in critical areas of the structure, pressure sensors in the hydraulic systems, video cameras for monitoring landing gear operation, and laser anemom- etry for accurate measurement of aircraft speed. There are two positions for flight- test engineers on the main deck and one on the upper deck. In addition, for most 36 23-29 NOVEMBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
