Airbus A350 XWB complete maiden flight

Airbus A350 XWB- the world’s most efficient twin-engined commercial aircraft, completed its maiden flight from Blagnac in Toulouse, Fra...

Airbus A350 XWB- the world’s most efficient twin-engined commercial aircraft, completed its maiden flight from Blagnac in Toulouse, France. The next generation jetliner is a direct competitor to US rival Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

Beginning its takeoff roll exactly on time at 10:00 a.m., the A350 XWB smoothly rotated and climbed away from Runway 32L at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, ascending through scattered clouds as it was accompanied by a photo chase aircraft.

A350 XWB landed back at 14.05 hours local time after successfully completing its flight that lasted four hours and five minutes (245 minutes).

The A350 XWB – carrying the registration F-WXWB – took off at around 221 tonnes. During the flight, which took the aircraft around south western France, the crew explored the aircraft’s flight envelope.

Some 30 minutes after lift-off the aircraft, travelling at about 190kt, retracted its landing-gear for the first time.

The aircraft was flown by Peter Chandler, Airbus’ Chief Test Pilot, and Guy Magrin, Project Pilot for the A350 XWB. Accompanying them in the cockpit was Pascal Verneau, the A350 XWB Project Test Flight Engineer.

Monitoring the progress of the flight profile were the three flight test engineers: Fernando Alonso, Head of Airbus Flight & Integration Test Centre; Patrick du Ché, Head of Development Flight Tests; and Emanuele Costanzo, lead Flight Test Engineer for the Trent XWB engine.

This first flight marks the beginning of a test campaign totaling around 2,500 flight hours with a fleet of five development aircraft. The rigorous flight testing will lead to the certification of the A350-900 variant by the European EASA and US FAA airworthiness authorities, prior to entry into service in the second half of 2014 with first operator Qatar Airways.

Operating on maximum takeoff power of its two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the A350 XWB demonstrated the aircraft’s low external noise levels and excellent handling conditions from its first moments in the air.

While airborne, the A350 XWB was clearly identifiable by the extra widebody fuselage cross-section, its distinctive wrap-around windshield and streamlined nose profile, along with the tapered wings – a result of Airbus’ advanced aerodynamic design. To further distinguish the new aircraft, it carries the A350 WXB designation – complete with the stylized logo – in large letters on its fuselage centerline.

The A350-900 version is the mid-family member of the A350 XWB Family, with the -900 to accommodate 314 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. The longer-fuselage A350-1000 version seats 350, while the shortest – the A350-800 – has a capacity of 270 passengers.

The A350 XWB is Airbus’ all-new mid-size long range product line.The new family will bring a step change in efficiency compared with existing aircraft in this size category, using 25 per cent less fuel and providing an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions. To date the A350 XWB has won 613 firm orders from 33 customers worldwide.