Oldun

With Boeing's Dreamliner woes, I hope that Airbus get their next generation of planes right.
The A350 is making steady progress, here is a timeline to keep an eye on.

http://www.a350xwb.com/#timeline/8387

Production video..

http://videos.airbus.com/video/a5eab2edd1es.html

Graz

The satellite communications system on that plane is something I've helped develop (& the A380)

Not sure if any of our kit finds its way onto Dreamliners.

Oldun

So if they go off course when flying do they blame you?

Seriously though, Airbus is a success story, they certainly know how to put planes together out of parts that come from several countries.
I see the Beluga flying over my town regularly on the way to the Airbus wing manufacturing plant at Broughton, that plane itself is a design marvel.
The A380 wings are also made there but are too big for the Beluga, so they did this..
http://www.portofmostyn.co.uk/airbus...-facility.html

Here you can see a wing waiting for shipment
http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=53.1929...33023&t=h&z=16

Graz

Nah, nothing to do with steering the thing, mainly so the passengers can get on the Internet and use their mobile phones while jetting about

IIRC though the system we do for the A350 also handles the cockpit communications when out of range of any ground based infrastructure (i.e. UHF/VHF). It's separated from the passenger stuff and has dual redundancy, fail-over modes etc. Realistically it not often used in flight, once out of range (i.e. over an ocean) things stay quiet until nearing the destination airport, only if it things start to go **** up does it really come into play. Then you really need it to work properly

Leslie

I would certainly not like to be operating that aircraft. Sounds like they have been taking too many shortcuts in the design.

Les

cster

Surely not knowing if you art going to make it is half the fun.

Oldun

Dreamliner or A350?

Leslie

I never looked at it quite like that!

Les

Leslie

The one that keeps on trying to start electrical fires!

Les

Oldun

That'll be the Boeing Nightmareliner then.
This is what is left of a battery on a Dreamliner.

Leslie

Bit of a horror story I reckon!

Les

Oldun

Another step forward for Airbus production.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted the Type Certificate to the Rolls-Royce TrentXWB, that means that the engine can now be used on the new A350.

Extract from the article in my link..
"The TrentXWB is the largest and most powerful commercial aircraft engine Rolls has built. It’s diameter is equivalent to the fuselage size of an A320 airliner"

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...-approval.html

dpb

Ha, ill have to fwd that to mate, he used to service rolls rocye airplane motors - all over the world