+ VIDEO The latest Airbus Wednesday completed a series of test flights around the world. European certification, prior to entry into service, should follow in September
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The long certification campaign of the A350 coming to an end. After 14 months of testing and more than 2,500 flight hours, the latest Airbus has completed its Wednesday night “route-proving” a world tour of 20 days to test the unit operating conditions , which was the penultimate step to obtain European certification. The A350-900 MSN 005 – one of five aircraft used by the test campaign – returned to land Wednesday evening in Toulouse, after a journey of 151,300 kilometers in total, including flights over the North Pole of all the world’s oceans and stops in 14 international airports. Although some long-haul flights are still scheduled for the coming days, this world tour was the last big piece on the road to certification. In all likelihood, the A350 should win next month the precious European Aviation Safety Agency, clearing the way for first delivery to Qatar Airways as early as November and to enter service in December or January.
The issue of ETOPS certification
Apparently everything went for the better when this last phase of testing. “We did not find anything we did not already know. The unit is fully prepared to enter service tomorrow, “ said Fernando Alonso, director of Airbus tests, with the arrival of the aircraft in Toulouse. Fear of technical changes last minute, which would delay the delivery schedule and the ramp up of the production line, seems open.
The question is what kind of ETOPS certification, Airbus will manage to win for the first months of operation. ETOPS certification sets the distance at which an aircraft jet is allowed to move away from an airport emergency. The basic qualification is ETOPS 180, which sets the maximum distance 180 minutes with an airport. But the A350 naturally aspire to the maximum qualification of 330 minutes (5:30) previously granted to rival the Boeing 787, but even ETOPS 350 It is possible that European or American authorities shall impose a transient phase of 240 minutes This would limit the potential uses for the first customers.
It is not certain that the American FAA issues its certification together with the Agency for European Security. This was the case in the past for the A380 and the 787, but the FAA may use the pretext of the problems that occurred on the 787 to allow additional time.
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