Second A350 XWB Test Aircraft Completes First Flight

The second A350 XWB to fly, MSN3, the second development aircraft, completed its first flight on Oct. 14, 2013. The initial mission of MSN3 was performed from the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, France, where Airbus is headquartered. Its first flight lasted approximately 5 hours.

 

The A350 XWB test aircraft was flown by Frank Chapman and Thierry Bourges, Airbus test pilots. Accompanying them in the cockpit was Gérard Maisonneuve, test flight engineer, while three flight test engineers monitored the progress of the flight profile: Tuan Do, Robert Lignée and Stéphane Vaux.

 

MSN3 - similarly to MSN1 that first flew June 14, 2013 - has no cabin, but is equipped with a heavy flight test installation.

 

The first A350 XWB to fly (MSN1) has flown more than 330 flight test hours to date in almost 70 flights. These flights have been devoted to the identification and freeze of all flap and slat configurations, loads and aeroelastic testing, and evaluation of the aircraft’s handling characteristics and systems’ operation throughout the operational envelope. Three more A350 XWB test aircraft will join MSN 1 and 3 to perform the planned 2,500 hours up to type certification.

 

The A350 XWB has already won 725 firm orders from 37 customers worldwide. First delivery is planed second half of 2014 to Qatar Airways.