First Major A350 Wing Component Delivered
FIRST MAJOR A350 WING COMPONENT DELIVERED
The A350 Xtra-Wide Body (XWB) programme reached another key milestone as the first gear beam arrived in Filton for testing
It is the first major A350 XWB wing component to be delivered to Airbus in the UK and the first of its kind to be developed by the company. It is also unprecedented in terms of the size of a component made entirely of titanium, which makes it strong and comparatively lightweight.
The 4.3m-long titanium beam is designed to be attached to both the wing and fuselage of the A350. A left and right hand beam will each support a main landing gear, a major innovation in itself because of the double side stay system.
The beam was forged in Russia, then taken to Valencia, California for machining by the team from Aerospace Dynamics International (ADI) before being shipped to the UK where it will be installed in the test rig.
Airbus’ head of Landing Gear Test Pete Hart said: "This is the first ever gear beam of its kind and a new concept for gear installation.
"It’s a key component for the A350 LG0 Test Facility and its delivery marks a major milestone in the programme."
Lead engineer Tim Ward said: "We’ve been working towards this day for years. The project was concept-driven since we were designing around a carbon wing.
"The beam will share the gear load between the wing and the fuselage, which enabled Airbus to optimise the wing covers using lightweight carbon composite. It was a great team effort from Airbus engineers to fully analyse and design the gear beam to meet its requirements, before it was manufactured by ADI.
"There is a huge difference between seeing an image of it on a screen and seeing the beam in real life. After years of work, we’re very happy to have it here thanks to a great partnership with ADI."
