GKN awarded contract for A380

Citation

(2002), "GKN awarded contract for A380", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 74 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2002.12774fab.036

GKN awarded contract for A380

GKN awarded contract for A380

Keywords: GKN Aerospace Services, Airbus, Manufacturing, Contracts

GKN Aerospace Services, the aerospace division of GKN plc, has been awarded the contract by Airbus UK for the design and manufacture of the Wing Trailing Edge panels for the Airbus A380 Superjumbo.

The contract is worth an estimated $600 m to GKN over the assumed 600 aircraft life of the programme. GKN Aerospace Services is already involved in the design of the important midbox structure for the A380 wing and the manufacture of the composite flap track beams that are also structural wing components. This award brings the total estimated value of work secured by GKN on the A380 to more than $800 m.

The work involved on the A380 wing trailing edge will be carried out by a number of GKN’s aerospace facilities. Design will be undertaken in Bristol and Cowes in the UK and manufacture in Cowes and in Alabama in the US, both of which already produce wing components for other Airbus aircraft.

The A380 contract provides the launch platform for the application of a composite manufacturing technology developed by GKN Aerospace Services in partnership with Airbus. A380 will be the first aerospace platform to use GKN’s resin film infusion (RFI) technology rather than conventional “pre-peg” composites. The technique offers both weight and cost savings over current composite processes and will have broad-ranging future applications.