Article from BTNews 30 JUNE 2014
A350 test fleet complete
On June 20 the fifth Airbus A350 XWB flight test aircraft took to the skies for the first time. This aircraft (MSN005) completes the five-strong development fleet and the second passenger cabin-equipped A350.
The airframe will now be tasked with route proving and ETOPS validation. According to Airbus: “MSN005 embodies the operationally definitive configuration for Type Certification duties. This milestone means that the A350 XWB development programme is at full speed and on track for certification in the third quarter of this year, to be followed thereafter by delivery of the first customer aircraft to Qatar Airways in the fourth quarter.”
As of mid-June, the A350 XWB programme had already achieved more than 2,000 flight-test hours in around 500 flights, and with this the programme is demonstrating the highest flying rate ever achieved in Airbus flight tests, with around 80 flight hours per aircraft per month.
The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of long-range, two-engined wide-body jet airliners and is the first Airbus with both fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer. It can carry 250 to 350 passengers in a typical three-class seating layout, or maximum seating of 440 to 550 passengers, depending on variant.
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