An A350 Xperience

Put to the test

A year is a long time in aviation. And while the headlines may have receded since the social media frenzy surrounding the A350’s first flight in June 2013, the same cannot be said for the ongoing programmes surrounding this Airbus widebody. Behind the scenes the methodical process has continued at a record rate. The 2,000 flight test hours have been achieved at a record rate for Airbus of around 80 flight hours each month. Furthermore, in 1987 Airbus flight testing gathered 12,000 parameters while today that number has increased 50-fold to 670,000 parameters for the A350. Archiving and efficiently accessing the 53 terabytes of data is a challenge in itself. Yet even before that first flight, the A350 development was a showcase for the evolution of flight testing. Airbus has dedicated a great deal of effort to detecting potential issues early on, ‘upstream’ of the flight test program. In this way it has been able to reduce the amount of flight testing required and streamline the process. In comparison, an aircraft in the 1980s could expect to take at least two years in flight testing and certification. In the case of the A350, the plan was to flight test and certify in 14 months. All being well, Airbus is on track to achieve this goal. Many of the test requirements remain, but the information is gathered more efficiently. New-style flush sensors are mounted on the aircraft’s surface to measure everything from airflow patterns to the level that the fuselage is ‘excited’ by jet-blast. Simply mounting the old-style probes and tapes was a time-consuming task, now replaced by a quicker, cleaner option. Testing the aeroplane’s performance in climatic extremes is still achieved by exposure to the elements. There have been high altitude operations in Bolivia, cold weather operations in Canada and extreme weather scenarios recreated in the McKinley Climatic Center in the United States. Engine water ingestion has been tested by powering the A350 through specially designed troughs and minimum ‘unstick’ speeds were measured on takeoffs in Paris. Piece by piece the data was gathered and brought together in June’s ‘early long flights’ where real-world journeys were simulated with real-life passengers on board. In many ways, it is the work done before the physical testing that has enhanced the program’s efficiency. Airbus has reduced the timeframe in bringing the aircraft to the market through accurate modelling, data analysis and early rectification of problems. So accurate have been its forecasts that its calculated stopping distance in a high energy rejected takeoff scenario was within five metres of how the actual aeroplane performed.

Airline one

In the past, the demands of aircraft certification and daily airline operations have been poles apart. As a consequence, the real world would often throw up its own set of test requirements once the aircraft began commercial operations. To circumvent this, Airbus has initiated the ‘Airline One’ concept in conjunction with the development of the A350.

It is an innovation aimed at ensuring maturity in a new design at the time it enters service. Airline One is organised under a controlling body, complete with flight operations, maintenance and engineering departments. To achieve a ‘mature’ aircraft on delivery to the customer, airline relevant items (ARI) are captured and attended to as a priority in addition to developing technical publications for entry into service (EIS). Many aspects of operating the aircraft in the test environment are further filtered through the Airline One program.

A350 testing continues apace. airbus

Additionally, the flight test conditions are set to mirror real airline operations, employing the same key performance indicators (KPI) such as operational reliability and operational interruptions. There is a dedicated hangar for working parties and daily maintenance as well as an ‘airline’ office to deal with problems as they arise, just as an airline would. Similarly, flightline maintenance is attended to just as it would be in commercial operations.

By the time the A350 XWB is delivered to the customer resplendent in the airline’s livery, the vast majority of traditional teethingproblems should have been seen, addressed and rectified. To an airline this promises a smooth integration, reduced interruptions and ultimately, the all important cost savings.

An A350 Xperience

As the deadlines of certification and delivery loom ever closer for the A350 XWB, the engineers and pilots continue to put the aircraft through its paces. Still, in mid-June, Airbus was able to somehow wedge a 60-minute flight into their A350 XWB timeline to showcase their newest family member to a media contingent visiting Toulouse for its Airbus Innovation Days 2014 media briefs. I was fortunate to be one of those who flew aboard that flight. The fact that Airbus was prepared to conduct the flight reflects two rather key points. Firstly, that its flight test program is on track and secondly, that it is confident enough in its product to take a load of media scribes aloft. Furthermore, Airbus created specific social media channels for the journalists to share the flight with the world. Consequently, there was a buzz of texting and tweeting as 200 passengers cleared a security channel and filed down the aerobridge.

The aircraft’s cabin was still in flight test mode, so interspersed among the passenger seating were stations of data-gathering equipment, computer screens andcables taped to the floor. Even so, as one walked through business class and into the economy cabin there was still that new aeroplane smell. The interior boasted all of the mod-cons of inflight entertainment systems and even the fasten belt sign was a scrolling digital display. As we all settled in there was no mistaking that this was a new generation of passenger jet and we were very privileged to take flight.

Pushing back from the terminal I looked towards the wingtip through generously sized windows. The winglet design is in itself interesting as it presents as a cross-over between a blended winglet and a raked wingtip. Its sweeping look is eye-catching, but more importantly it is there to offset the swirling vortices and aerodynamic drag. Seated to the rear of the cabin, the noise level generated as the engines started was negligible and was a trend that would continue throughout the flight. And while the Toulouse taxiways are undoubtedly smooth, the ride offered in the cabin was decidedly gentle both in terms of any bumps and braking. Combined with the comfortable economy seat it is obvious that the passengers’ well-being was premium in the design of the aircraft.

With only 30,000kg of fuel on board, the lightly burdened A350 accelerated and soared into the air with a minimum of effort and sweet acceleration. Once again, I was struck by the low noise level in the cabin as the two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines spooled up and pushed the A350 skyward. It took less than 15 minutes to climb to 31,000ft and the pitch over into level flight was smooth. When the thrust came back to cruise power, the cabin was comparable with the A380 as the quietest that I have encountered to date. That being said, I am yet to fly aboard the A350’s new generation of competitor from Seattle.

As we wheeled about the sky over southern France, contrails criss-crossed the busy blue skies. Air traffic was everywhere to be seen, but none more spectacular than a Rafale fighter that approached to fly in loose formation with the A350. Below, the snow-capped Pyrenees highlighted the border between France and Spain as journalists moved from window to window with their cameras in hand.

After nearly an hour and all too soon, we turned back towards Toulouse and the engines throttled back for descent. At one stage theCaptain raised the speed-brake, not fully, but a little beyond halfway. The panels left their flush positions on the wing’s upper surface but there was surprisingly little aerodynamic noise or buffeting generated by the flight spoilers.

The scene beyond the sweeping winglet soon changed from peaks to paddocks and then to the urban outskirts. Each stage of flap was deployed and the landing gear selected down until the aircraft was fully configured to land. The sound of the final spool-up of thrust was minimal and the touchdown as gentle as they come.

The test pilots had flown the aircraft impressively, but the aircraft was impressive in its own right. There is a good deal on offer to the passengers in both facilities and comfort, particularly in terms of the quiet cabin.

After I disembarked I was able to chat with the pilots about theA350 as we looked upon its clean white nose and ‘carbon fibre’ livery parked at the gate – but not for long. Soon the A350 was carrying a new crew and pushing back once more to continue the serious business of flight testing. I was left at ground level this time to contemplate the looming certification and entry into service of the A350 XWB.

On track

All of the indicators are that the Airbus A350 XWB is set to reach certification on schedule and be delivered to Qatar Airways by the end of the year. In a complex industry where technical hurdles often circumvent the best plans, the A350 appears to be a success story.

Undoubtedly a good deal of this success results from their ongoing evolutionary approach to flight testing. Through extensive design and development, Airbus has seen to address issues very early on andbefore the first aircraft ever took flight. Furthermore, that next big step into commercial operations is set to be smoothed through the Airline One program and a degree of training commonality with the A330.

The A350 XWB is set to not only make its mark as an efficient airliner, but deliver a mature operational aeroplane from day one in service. To date the program has been on-target and on-schedule. In an industry where time is very big money, this is critical for both Airbus and airlines alike. The months of rigorous testing and development have led to this threshold of entry into service and the engineers, pilots and staff of the flight test team will wait with baited breath. For at that point it will become the domain of airline executives and passengers to undertake the next stage of ‘testing’ the A350 Xperience.

Emirates cancels A350 order

It wasn’t all good news for the A350 at the Airbus Innovation Days 2014, with the news that Emirates Airline has cancelled an order for 70 Airbus A350 twinjets it had placed in 2007.

The cancellation, for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s due to start being delivered from 2019, is a blow to Airbus’s ambitions for the aircraft as it nears service entry with Qatar Airways later this year.

In a statement, Airbus said: “The decision follows on-going discussions with the airline in light of their fleet requirement review, as demonstrated by their order of 50 additional A380s at the last Dubai Airshow and their continuous interest in the program. Airbus and Emirates Airline benefit from a long-standing relationship and the airline recently reiterated its confidence in Airbus products particularly by praising the A380 and the benefits the aircraft brings to their operations. ” Emirates last year placed a large order for 150 Boeing 777Xs to replace some of its 777-200s and -300s in service from 2018. The A350 backlog stands at 742 firm orders following the cancellation.