The Airbus A350 is a long-range, mid-size, wide-body family of airliners currently under development by European manufacturer Airbus. The A350 will be the first Airbus with both fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. It is designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and 787.
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, mid-size, wide-body family of airliners currently under development by European manufacturer Airbus. The A350 will be the first Airbus with both fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. The A350 is designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 787. Airbus claims that it will be more fuel-efficient, with up to 8% lower operating cost than the Boeing 787. It is scheduled to enter into airline service in 2013. The launch customer for the Airbus A350 is Qatar Airways, which ordered the -900 variant.
A350 Background
When Boeing announced its 787 Dreamliner project, Airbus initially stated that the it was itself just a reaction to the A330, and that no response was needed to the 787. The airlines pushed Airbus to provide a competitor, and at first, they proposed a simple derivative of the A330, unofficially dubbed the ‘A330-200Lite’, with improved aerodynamics and engines similar to those on the 787. The airlines were not satisfied, and Airbus committed itself to a new design to be called the A350. The original version of the A350 superficially resembled the A330 due to its common fuselage cross-section and assembly. A new wing, engines and a horizontal stabilizer were to be coupled with new composite materials and production methods applied to the fuselage to make the A350 an almost all-new aircraft.
As a result of these criticisms to the proposed A350 plans, Airbus undertook a major review of the A350 concept. The proposed new A350 with a larger fuselage cross-section has become more of a competitor to the larger Boeing 777 as well as some models of the Boeing 787. The A350 fuselage can accommodate 10 passengers per row in a high-density configuration. From the point of view of a seated passenger, the A350 cabin is 13 cm (5.1 in) wider at eye level than the competing 787, and 28 cm (11 in) narrower than the Boeing 777, its other competitor. All A350 passenger models will have a range of at least 8,000 nmi (15,000 km).
Airbus announced that the redesigned aircraft would be called A350 XWB (Xtra-Wide-Body), and will have three variants (A350-800, -900 and -1000). First delivery for the -900 is scheduled for mid-2013, with the -800 and -1000 following on, respectively, 12 and 24 months later. Development costs are projected to be US$15 billion.
A350 Design
The A350 XWB will be built on the technologies developed for Airbus A380 and will have a similar cockpit and fly-by-wire systems layout. The A350XWB will be made out of 53% composites, 19% Al/Al-Li, 14% titanium, 6% steel and 8% miscellaneous. This compares to the Boeing 787, which consists of 50% composites, 20% aluminium, 15% titanium, 10% steel and 5% the balance.
A350 Specifications
| Model | A350-800 | A350-900 | A350-1000 |
| Crew | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Passengers | 270-312 | 314-366 | 350-412 |
| Length | 199 ft (60.7 m) | 219.8 ft (67 m) | 243 ft (74 m) |
| Wingspan | 213 ft (64.8 m) | 213 ft (64.8 m) | 213 ft (64.8 m) |
| Height | 55 ft 6 in (16.9 m) | 55 ft 6 in (16.9 m) | 55 ft 6 in (16.9 m) |
| Fuselage dimensions | Width: 19.6 ft (5.96 m)Height: 20 ft (6.09 m) | Width: 19.6 ft (5.96 m)Height: 20 ft (6.09 m) | Width: 19.6 ft (5.96 m)Height: 20 ft (6.09 m) |
| Cabin width | 18.3 ft (5.59 m) | 18.3 ft (5.59 m) | 18.3 ft (5.59 m) |
| Empty weight | 255,075 lb | ||
| Maximum landing weight | 408,000 lb | 452,000 lb | 504,000 lb |
| MTOW | 571,000 lb | 591,000 lb | 657,000 lb |
| Cruising speed | Mach 0.85 (903 km/h, 487 knots) | Mach 0.85 (903 km/h, 487 knots) | Mach 0.85 (903 km/h, 487 knots) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.89 (945 km/h, 510 knots) | Mach 0.89 (945 km/h, 510 knots) | Mach 0.89 (945 km/h, 510 knots) |
| Maximum range, fully loaded | 2,500–3,050 nmi (4,630–5,650 km; 2,880–3,510 mi) | 7,650–8,200 nmi (14,200–15,200 km; 8,800–9,440 mi) | 8,000–8,500 nmi (14,800–15,700 km; 9,210–9,780 mi) |
| Service ceiling | 43,100 ft | 43,100 ft | 41,450 ft |
| Engines (×2) | RR Trent XWB | RR Trent XWB | RR Trent XWB |
A350 Animation
