Airbus commences A350 production in Germany

A350 XWB. Photo: Courtesy, Airbus.

Airbus said it began A350 XWB production in Germany with the launch of upper wing shell fabrication at its Stade plant, and reiterated that first delivery to Qatar Airways is on track for 2013.

President and CEO Tom Enders said Tuesday in Stade that the aircraft will be the "most economical and environment-friendly" in its class through the use of "advanced materials" such as "upper wing shells made from carbon fiber-reinforced plastic." It will be made of 53% lightweight carbon fiber composites (ATW, March 1). Enders said achieving "a very high efficiency" in A350 production will be critical. The program will feature "an entirely new quality control system" and the "use of waterjet technology for edge trimming and a high-precision automated conveyance system in the production hall for large components."

The 30,000 sq.m.-Stade plantwill also be used to build the A350's vertical tailplane and CFRP fuselage shells. Airbus said 100 employees will be working at the plant by year end, expanding to around 500 "when production reaches full capacity."

Bernstein Research has forecast that A350 deliveries will slip into 2014 and Airbus will deliver just eight of the next-generation aircraft that year (ATW Daily News, Aug. 23) while the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said in a report this week that "Airbus has already admitted it has eaten into some of the design buffers it has built into the A350 program." But company executives have maintained the delivery schedule remains unchanged.

Airbus has won 528 firm orders for the aircraft. Final assembly of the first A350-900 is slated to commence in 2011.The manufacturer said last December it had completed the aircraft's first structure, an all-composite center wing-box panel (ATW Daily News, Dec. 7, 2009).