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Posted on 05/24/2007 10:33:04 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative
Airbus is set to make yet another design change to its A350 XWB, this time dumping composite panels on an aluminum frame for an all-composite barrel.
Pressure from major customers such as Emirates and ILFC is believed to be the catalyst for the pending revamp. News of the move, first flagged by this website in January (ATWOnline, Jan. 26), comes the same week that Boeing started final assembly on the 787.
While Emirates President Tim Clark told media the Dreamliner's finish resembled "a polished silver coffeepot," Airbus has been getting mixed reaction to its composite panel concept. Trade studies have been underway in Toulouse since late last year, according to company insiders. Last fall, ATWOnline revealed that Airbus was switching to the composite panel design from all-aluminum and that the aircraft's entry into service would slip to 2014 (ATWOnline, Oct. 25, 2006).
This latest change may push the EIS further out, but Clark told this website he repeatedly has told Airbus that "while the EIS is of concern, you must get it [the design] right." Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways have pushed a similar message. Clark also has emphasized to the manufacturer that the future lies in a 787-style composite barrel structure, saying, "That is the way [the industry] is going to go."
Many at Airbus have been concerned that the A350 XWB "would be blown away" if Boeing turned to an all-composite 777 that could be built and enter service before the A350. With its rival capitalizing on a technology that eventually will flow through to both a 777 and a 737 replacement, Airbus must choose whether to move forward with an all-composite barrel or be left behind. Clark has stressed that he is "sold on the 787's 40% reduction in maintenance," something not possible with an aluminum frame.
So far, Airbus has been able to convert only one customer, Finnair (ATWOnline, March 9), to the new XWB, while it has secured new orders from Aeroflot (ATWOnline, March 23) and Pegasus Aviation (ATWOnline, Jan. 5). SIA (20), China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group (20) and TAP Portugal (10) have yet to confirm their orders, while US Airways appears to be leaning toward the aircraft (ATWOnline, May 17).
The change to an all-composite barrel is expected to be confirmed at the Paris Air Show along with several major commitments from airlines and leasing companies. The move will affect Boeing, which has been waiting on Airbus to define the XWB before proceeding with the 787-10. The European company's shift to all-composite likely will push Boeing to move to a larger 787-10, possibly seating 330. That version requires a higher gross weight and bigger undercarriage (six wheel trucks) to meet range requirements and will need more passengers to compete with the claimed numbers for the XWB-900.
The original A350 was unveiled in September 2004 and "authority to offer" was announced that December. Full industrial launch came in October 2005, but the aircraft faced a redesign following criticism that began with ILFC Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy's call for a revamp 14 months ago (ATWOnline, March 30, 2006). Airbus introduced the XWB last summer at Farnborough (ATWOnline, July 18, 2006) and launched the program in December (ATWOnline, Dec. 4, 2006).
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Not mentioned in the article is how much longer this will tie up Airbus’s launch of the mythical A350XWB. It was previously slated to be intro’d in 2012-13. Since this is a major redesign it will probably add 1.5 to 2 years to the intro. By that time Boeing will be about to release the composite 737 and will be a couple of years from a composite 777. Airbus is so screwed. The toulouse goose is cooked.
“All-composite barrels have sealed Boeing’s fate! Their satanically numbered 7**s are roasting in hell.”
I hope by then Boeing has some more imaginative concepts. Not that I don’t like the 737 or the 777, but how about a couple of blended wing designs?
Airbust is screwed.
A airline CEO was saying this week that Airbust is pushing for the A350 to be much bigger than the 787. That airlines won’t buy it since it’s capacity will be bigger than the airlines need for the routes that would be typical for the 787.
Time for Embraer to consider buying Airbus :)
Might happen, but remember, modern commercial aviation is an evolutionary business. Look what happened to the Concorde.
According to the article EIS is pushed back until at least 2014.
At the rate things are going Boeing may have to set up a second production line for the 787 given that Airbus will be excessively late with the A350XWB....
That’ll add a year or so to the launch... Sniff /s
Boeing's been trying for over a decade to figure out how to get such a craft into existing airports and address the survivability of a non-round, light, pressure vessel. No small feat.
They seem to be about to do a freighter. Seems like a prudent step to work out many issues. If they do this, look for a launch in 5 - 7 years.
There’s a very real chance that there could be a BWB military tanker. It would be limited to just tanker roles, but it would be a very good tanker.
Boeing is working on it.
Boeing's BWB wings way towards air cargo market
By Graham Warwick
Airframer in talks with two potential customers to define commercial freighter version
Boeing is working with two potential customers to define a commercial freighter variant of its blended wing body large transport aircraft as it prepares to fly a subscale model of the flying-wing design at NASA Dryden in California.
"We have been working with a couple of customers," says George Muellner, president, advanced systems, for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "We have a customer, we have finalised what they want, and it is now an issue of customer funding and our desire to invest."
Boeing has been working on the BWB concept for years, but the design is still at an early stage. "The earliest it could be out there is eight to 10 years, initially as a commercial freighter and beyond that for military applications," says Muellner.
He says two issues need to be overcome before the BWB becomes a reality. The first is an understanding of the design's low-speed flying qualities. This will be tackled with the two X-48B unmanned subscale vehicles now at Dryden. Flight testing is expected to begin next month.
The second is manufacturability. "The basic design is not a tube, it's a rectangular pressure vessel, so material design is an issue," Muellner says. "The internal structure is like an array of ISO containers," he says, which is one part of its appeal to freight operators. "It's fuel efficient and it's easy to load."
Boeing Commercial Airplanes has been careful to distance itself from the military division's work on BWB because of concerns about passenger acceptance. "BCA is scared because it has no windows," says Muellner.
Especially if a BWB tanker really can have three booms.
The no windows design issue could be solved with putting a screen in the back of each chair and giving choices of a small camera (front, back, top side, bottom side) for the view. I would love to be able to look out the front of the airline while it's flying.
By then (2014), airlines operating the oldest B777’s [this excludes the -300ER, -200LR and partly of the -200ER population] will probably be deciding whether to go 1. More B777’s or 2. try out the A350 XWB family [which is what nAirbus is counting on-their A350 XWB to be a B777 competitor]
It's emergency exits that are the biggest problem. Someone sitting in the middle of the aircraft could be a long distance from any emergency exit. Putting some in the floor wouldn't help if the landing gear is destroyed, and the plane is resting on the bottom of the fuselage. There's also a problem with excessive G forces in the seats furthest from the centerline of the aircraft that could make the ride uncomfortable. That's the main reason they're talking about this being a freighter, but even then it would be non-live freight. I don't think race horse owners would want their expensive horses subjected to excessive G forces away from the centerline.
Where the 747F(reighter) Trounces the A380F is (despite the higher volume of the WhaleJet) is that it's 1 main cargo floor is very strongly supported for heavier loads in very dense capacity.
Whereas, the A380F, though possessing 2 cargo floors, is not designed for dense weights so it can only carry lighter yet bulky items such as FEDEX, DHL, UPS, etc. do.
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