A350 XWB Flight Test Campaign: A success

Since its maiden flight on June 14th 2013, the flight test crews immediately felt very comfortable with the A350 XWB’s handling and operations. All throughout the 14-month, 2600-flight hour Flight Test Campaign, the five development aircraft demonstrated a level of maturity well above that of which we had observed in previous new aircraft development programs. At the end of this exciting adventure, EASA granted the Type Certification (TC) and clearance to operate 320 minute ETOPS routes, which will allow operators to fly direct routes with no restrictions.

Due to the A350’s systems and operating procedures being similar to the A330’s, both models will have Common Type Ratings for their flight crews, allowing for a seamless introduction of the A350 into existing A330 fleets. The FAA Type Certification was granted a few weeks after the EASA TC.

To secure the ambitious objectives of the A350 XWB program, we had to be innovative in our testing approach. A unique test team was responsible for systems testing from the time the equipment was tested at the supplier facilities, through the Airbus integration test rigs and on to the aircraft itself. This continuity allowed our teams to gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the systems, which is crucial to a successful flight test campaign.

During the testing phase, the A350 was exposed to extreme environmental conditions to demonstrate performance and correct systems behaviour. We tested the aircraft in high altitude airfields in Cochabamba and La Paz (Bolivia), we exposed it to the high temperatures of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, the cold Canadian winter in Iqualit and the strong crosswinds in Keflavick, Iceland.

The final stage of demonstrating the A350’s suitability to enter into service was the Route Proving Campaign, during which MSN 5 was operated during 26 consecutive days in a normal airline environment doing short, medium and long haul flights and flying routes all around the globe. During these flights we took the opportunity to fly guests from our customer airlines, all of whom were impressed by the quietness and spaciousness of the A350 XWB cabin.

I truly believe that the success of the A350 XWB Flight Test Campaign is attributed to the maturity of the aircraft, the relentless engagement of all the teams involved and the thorough preparation and upstream testing.

For more information contact:
Fernando Alonso
Head of Flight Operations & SVP Flight and Integration Tests
fernando.alonso@airbus.com