During tests carried out on the A350-1000 this month (April 2017) at the Istres Air Force Base in southern France, the aircraft was purposely run along an inundated surface to demonstrate its robustness and to secure its maturity before entry-into-service.
For these tests, crewmembers progressively accelerated the aircraft through the standing water five times at speeds from 80kts to 140kts, with the A350-1000 performing as expected.
The trials were documented with video and photo coverage, as well as the first use of a camera-equipped drone to provide airborne views of the test runs.
As the latest member of Airbus’s leading widebody family, the A350-1000 is scheduled to enter airline operation before year-end. In addition to having a longer fuselage accommodating 40 more passengers than the A350-900 version currently in service, the A350-1000 also features more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, a modified wing trailing-edge and new six-wheel main landing gears.
April 27, 2017
Pic: Airbus S.A.S. 2017 – photo by JF Bramard / cambulle
