I knew the Oct 2008 target had slipped, but I thought it was going to happen at the end of December 2008? Any info on when the design freeze will occur?
What did Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar buy anyway?
Full Version: A350XWB Design Freeze--When?
QUOTE (Aurora @ Jan 1 2009, 07:36 PM) 
What did Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar buy anyway?
Which time?
QUOTE
Airbus is entering a new phase in the development of the A350XWB twin-widebody, but some unresolved issues are causing outside observers to question the program plans' firmness.
McVitie believes Airbus is confronting financing problems for the A350. Even though Airbus-parent EADS has a healthy cash balance, airline customers need delivery financing in the coming years and that could be a drag on available resources. Moreover, he notes that the failure to unload production facilities in France and Germany means EADS has to foot more of the A350 development bill than initially planned.
The global economic crisis has hit Russia particularly hard, so the extent to which companies there can shoulder the financing burden of a major new program is uncertain.
McVitie also questions whether Airbus has fully frozen the A350 design, as it says it has.
As part of the process to validate the A350 design approach, Airbus is working on several structural demonstrators. One, the Barrel 1A, is the first fuselage cross-section demonstrator for the aircraft. It is giving Airbus some experience with the composite panel fuselage construction approach, which differs from Boeing's single-barrel fuselage section design concept. Barrel 1A will undergo electrical systems network testing this year. The coming months should also see the addition of an 18-meter (33-ft.) -long Barrel 1B demonstrator, with composite frames on a composite substructure, and a door to gain further information during dynamic fatigue tests.
Final wind tunnel checkout of the aerodynamic configuration is also slated to be completed in the late summer. Airbus has several thousand hours of wind tunnel time on the A350XWB from more than a year of trials.
Like most development programs, the A350 is struggling with weight growth, as well. The design remains above its target weight, industry officials indicate.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/sto...ne%205%20Review
McVitie believes Airbus is confronting financing problems for the A350. Even though Airbus-parent EADS has a healthy cash balance, airline customers need delivery financing in the coming years and that could be a drag on available resources. Moreover, he notes that the failure to unload production facilities in France and Germany means EADS has to foot more of the A350 development bill than initially planned.
The global economic crisis has hit Russia particularly hard, so the extent to which companies there can shoulder the financing burden of a major new program is uncertain.
McVitie also questions whether Airbus has fully frozen the A350 design, as it says it has.
As part of the process to validate the A350 design approach, Airbus is working on several structural demonstrators. One, the Barrel 1A, is the first fuselage cross-section demonstrator for the aircraft. It is giving Airbus some experience with the composite panel fuselage construction approach, which differs from Boeing's single-barrel fuselage section design concept. Barrel 1A will undergo electrical systems network testing this year. The coming months should also see the addition of an 18-meter (33-ft.) -long Barrel 1B demonstrator, with composite frames on a composite substructure, and a door to gain further information during dynamic fatigue tests.
Final wind tunnel checkout of the aerodynamic configuration is also slated to be completed in the late summer. Airbus has several thousand hours of wind tunnel time on the A350XWB from more than a year of trials.
Like most development programs, the A350 is struggling with weight growth, as well. The design remains above its target weight, industry officials indicate.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/sto...ne%205%20Review
QUOTE (BeauNG @ Jan 2 2009, 02:37 PM)
18-meter (33-ft.)
...well that's some interesting conversion math-- wonder what else is factually awry with this article
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