Special Report: Technology
VIP launch for A350 final assembly line
November 1st 2012
The A350 XWB is beginning to take shape and last month the plane’s 74,000 sq. metre final assembly line (FAL), in Toulouse, was officially inaugurated by the French Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, and Airbus president and CEO, Fabrice Bregier. Read More »
At full production the FAL, named after Roger Béteille, one of Airbus’ four founding fathers, will employ 1,500 people capable of building up to 10 aircraft a month from 2018.
The first two A350s, the static aircraft and the first flyable aircraft, MSN1, are at different stages of final assembly.
The static aircraft, which will be used for ground tests, has nearly completed assembly with fuselage, two wings and the vertical tail plane joined. It will be transferred to the static test hangar at the Toulouse Jean-Luc Lagardère site for tests to begin from April 2013.
The fuselage of MSN1 has been finished and the wings, vertical and horizontal tail plane will be joined to the fuselage early this month.
