Aerospace Testing InternationalAerospace Testing International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Acoustic & Vibration
      • Avionics
      • Data Acquisition
      • Defense
      • Drones & Air Taxis
      • Electric & Hybrid
      • EMC
      • Engine Testing
      • Environmental Testing
    • F-L
      • Fatigue Testing
      • Flight Testing
      • Helicopters & Rotorcraft
      • High Speed Imaging
      • Industry News
    • M-S
      • Materials Testing
      • NDT
      • Simulation & Training
      • Software
      • Space
      • Structural Testing
      • Supplier News
    • T-Z
      • Technology
      • Telemetry & Communications
      • Weapons Testing
      • Wind Tunnels
  • Features
  • Magazines
    • June 2025
    • March 2025
    • Dec 2024/Jan 2025
    • Showcase 2025
    • September 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Aerospace Test & Development Show
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Suppliers
    • Supplier Spotlights
    • Press Releases
    • Technical Papers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job – It’s FREE!
    • Manage Jobs (Employers)
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
Subscribe to magazine Subscribe to email newsletter Media Pack
Aerospace Testing InternationalAerospace Testing International
  • News
      • Acoustic & Vibration
      • Avionics
      • Data Acquisition
      • Defense
      • Drones & Air Taxis
      • Electric & Hybrid
      • EMC
      • Engine Testing
      • Environmental Testing
      • Fatigue Testing
      • Flight Testing
      • Helicopters & Rotorcraft
      • High Speed Imaging
      • Industry News
      • Materials Testing
      • NDT
      • Simulation & Training
      • Software
      • Space
      • Structural Testing
      • Supplier News
      • Technology
      • Telemetry & Communications
      • Weapons Testing
      • Wind Tunnels
  • Features
  • Magazines
    1. June 2025
    2. March 2025
    3. Dec 2024/Jan 2025
    4. Showcase 2025
    5. September 2024
    6. June 2024
    7. Archive Issues
    8. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    11th June 2025

    In this issue: June 2025

    Online Magazines By Ben Sampson
    Recent

    In this issue: June 2025

    11th June 2025

    In this issue: March 2025

    19th March 2025
    contents and front cover of magazine

    In this issue: December / January 2025

    19th December 2024
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Aerospace Test & Development Show
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Suppliers
    • Supplier Spotlights
    • Press Releases
    • Technical Papers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job – It’s FREE!
    • Manage Jobs (Employers)
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
Aerospace Testing InternationalAerospace Testing International
Environmental Testing Flight Testing

Airbus completes second A321XLR cold-weather testing campaign

Web TeamBy Web Team29th March 20234 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
A321XLR
The A321XLR flight test aircraft has undergone cold weather testing in northern Canada (Image: Airbus)

The third A321XLR flight-test aircraft has completed cold-weather ground testing at Iqaluit in northern Canada.

During the four-day cold-weather ground testing the cabin of FT3 (MSN11080) was subjected to temperatures of -20˚C  (-4˚F) to check the performance of key systems

“The objective of this most recent cold weather campaign was to validate the aircraft operation in cold weather for ground operations,” said Tuan Do, flight test engineer at Airbus.

“This time around we tested the cabin water and waste system – which required the temperatures inside the unheated cabin to soak at below -15˚C overnight. To this end, several cold soaks were conducted over successive nights with the doors left open, while the outside temperature was around -20˚C.

“In each case, different heating and insulation configurations were applied for subsequent comparative analysis by the engineering department.”

A cold weather option that is available for the A321XLR was tested in real conditions for the first time. The option adds heaters to ensure that systems do not freeze overnight. The tests also validated the standard aircraft configuration – without the optional package activated – and a weight-saving opportunity configuration, with less insulation.

Hydraulics, oil and electrical systems testing

A321XLR test aircraft FT2 (MSN11058) completed a similar program last month to test the operation of the hydraulics and other systems at extremely cold temperatures – after an overnight soak at -40˚C (-40˚F).

Do said, “During our first five-day visit to Iqaluit a month ago, when we powered-up the aircraft in the morning, we would wake up the hydraulics, electrics, and other systems and see how long it took to operate the aircraft and get it ready for taxiing and takeoff.”

“There were also some flights to validate the landing gear operation in very cold temperatures. Notably, the A321XLR features an uprated landing gear – to support the higher maximum take-off weight of the aircraft. Consequently, the shock absorbers on this new variant are designed to handle higher loads compared with those on the other A320 Family members.”

A321XLR cold weather tests
The outside temperature drops to around -20˚C during the tests (Image: Airbus)

The test objective was to check the weight-on-wheels signal, so the aircraft knows when the main landing gear shock absorbers are compressed or extended.

“There are many systems on the aircraft which depend on the weight on wheels signals to tell them whether the aircraft is in flight or on the ground. So during our first visit to Iqaluit we verified how the weight-on-wheels function is affected by the physical changes in the main landing gear and how shock absorber stiffness is affected by cold temperatures,” said Do.

Another design feature of the -XLR related to hydraulics that needed to be evaluated in the cold environment were new hydraulic lines that pass through the Rear Centre Tank, located aft of the Landing Gear bay. “Our design office colleagues wanted us to check that the routing of the pipes did not significantly affect the hydraulic temperatures and operations after the warm-up of the aircraft,” said Tuan.

Other cold weather challenges, applicable for any aircraft, include ensuring that hatches don’t freeze shut, or that the systems in general do not freeze up – not only the water pipes, oil and hydraulics systems, but also the electrical system, especially batteries.

“Batteries don’t hold as much charge or provide as much power output at low temperatures. Meanwhile, oil and hydraulics become very viscous at very low temperatures which makes it hard to move flight control surfaces around and drive pumps. So you need to heat the aircraft up and its pipework to be able to operate the aircraft,” explained Tuan.

Human challenges

On-site at Iqaluit Airbus brought a team of more than 30 people. These included: six flight crew – pilots, flight test engineers, and a test-flight engineer; a cabin specialist engineer; a maintenance team – comprising mechanical specialists, electrical specialists, quality inspectors; instrumentation specialists; systems design specialists; technical photographers; as well as an operations colleague to oversee the logistics for the overall journey.

Flight test engineers agree the test requirements with the design engineers’ office several months in advance of the test campaign. From the requirements, the campaign mission is planned together with the mission flight-crew and test-flight engineer colleagues.

Together they determine how they need to configure the aircraft inside and out when to start taxiing and then take off, and what the ambient and systems temperature conditions should be. They also sequence all the of testing and plan the campaign, and ensure that the whole mission is conducted safely.

 

This article was originally published by Airbus

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleDawn Aerospace’s re-usable spaceplane is ready for its first test flight
Next Article UniWest updates handheld rotating bolt hole scanner range
Web Team

Related Posts

Alt text: MQ-20 Avenger unmanned aircraft flying over desert terrain during autonomous flight demonstration
Defense

General Atomics advances autonomy with live engagement and interoperability tests

18th July 20253 Mins Read
A sleek, futuristic aircraft soars above a sea of fluffy clouds. The aircraft features two large engines mounted atop its wings and a distinctive vertical tail fin. The sky is bright, with sunlight casting dramatic shadows across the cloud tops
Engine Testing

Engineers to build and fly European hypersonic test aircraft by 2031

17th July 20254 Mins Read
Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft flying over Abu Dhabi cityscape with mosque in background
Drones & Air Taxis

Archer flight testing Midnight eVTOL in Abu Dhabi

14th July 20252 Mins Read
Latest Posts
Engineer working at dual monitors displaying NI LabVIEW software interface with programming diagrams and code

Emerson integrates AI advisor into test software

25th July 2025
Red and white Robinson R44 helicopter in flight against blue sky with magniX and Robinson branding visible on fuselage] Caption: magniX previously powered the first flight of a retrofitted electric Robinson R44 helicopter in 2022 (Image: magniX) Description: The partnership builds on magniX's previous success with electric helicopter conversions including the world's first piloted hydrogen-electric helicopter flight

magniX and Robinson partner on battery electric R66 helicopter

25th July 2025
White supersonic aircraft demonstrator positioned on sandy beach with water and sunset in background

Tempest combat air demonstrator aircraft design revealed

24th July 2025
Supplier Spotlights
Our Social Channels
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Getting in Touch
  • Subscribe To Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Meet the Team
  • Media Pack
Related Topics
  • Aircraft Interiors
  • Business Jet Interiors
FREE WEEKLY NEWS EMAIL!

Get the 'best of the week' from this website direct to your inbox every Wednesday

© 2023 Mark Allen Group Ltd | All Rights Reserved
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.