(Airbus)
Beyond the immediate challenge of the production ramp-up this year’s Airbus Innovation Days featured the usual mix of market forecasts, product updates on other models such as the A330neo and A380 (now carrying 10% of all Heathrow passengers) and the inevitable swipes at the competition from its eminently quotable chief salesman, John Leahy. Bombardier's CSeries, he said was a “cute little airplane” but questioned the economic viability of the its Delta Air Lines order, when he alleged it was losing $7m per aircraft on the deal. Traditional rival Boeing was also in his crosshairs, saying Boeing’s plan to tweak the 737 MAX to address the 'middle of the market' 757 replacement would result in the 'Mad MAX'.
Leahy also let slip the internal designation for a proposed A350-1000 stretch – called the 'A350-2000' – that would seat 400 passengers and go head-to-head with Boeing's 777X-9. The A350-1000, meanwhile, is set to fly in September.
Beyond the presentations on the usual Airbus vs Boeing seat width battle, other briefings focused on new innovations and technology that Airbus was developing and introducing into its business – such as 3D printing/ALM, big data, augmented reality, UAVs and automation. Additive Layer Manufacturing (or 3D printing) for aerospace applications is leading to ever bigger parts and also taking its cues from nature in bio-mimicry. Particularly interesting was a 3D-printed spoiler based on the design of the light, but strong pond lilypad. A 1.8m part will fly on an A320 by the end of 2018 and its 3D printed design means it is 55% lighter than the previous spoiler. Meanwhile a 'bionic' cabin partition, 3D printed from aluminum powder, is set to fly on an A320 later this year. This is 45% lighter than the standard partition and potentially could be a retrofit solution.
At Innovation Days, Airbus also revealed its first 3D printed aircraft – THOR (Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality) – an electric-powered subscale demonstrator model of what looked like a twin-engine regional type. Taking four weeks to 'print', it was first flown in November last year. THOR is set to make 18 more flights this year and will help demonstrate how larger structures and building complete aircraft might be possible with 3D printing.
- See more at:
http://www.aerosociety.com/…/Insight-…/4423/Dash-to-deliver…
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