Airbus completes a major A400M wing assembly milestone

Citation

(2007), "Airbus completes a major A400M wing assembly milestone", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 79 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2007.12779caf.008

Airbus completes a major A400M wing assembly milestone

Airbus completes a major A400M wing assembly milestone

The first set of wings for the first A400M military transport aircraft – MSN001 – recently passed a major milestone when the first whole wing was removed from its state-of-the-art assembly jig at Airbus Filton, Bristol, UK site. The wing is the first-ever wing for an Airbus-built aircraft constructed largely from composite materials (CFRP) and is believed to be the largest composite wing ever made.

The 23m long by 4m wide port (left side) wingbox, weighing around 3ton, was removed from its assembly “jig” by overhead crane. This was the first time the removal procedure had been carried out and it involved a team of ten workers.

Final assembly of the first wing components began just four months ago, on 20 July 2006, On 21 September, 2006, the wing featured in the formal opening of the new £70 million (e100 million) A400M Wing Manufacturing Centre by the UK's Minister for Defence Procurement, Lord Drayson.

For the Airbus workers at Filton, the next step is to carry out comprehensive measurements of the wing before beginning the “equipping phase” – when the wing will be fitted with hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel and electrical systems and the flying control surfaces. For the first and five subsequent sets of wings, and also for the fatigue and static test wings, “equipping” also includes the fitting of additional instrumentation and equipment for use later during the flight and ground testing of the whole aircraft.

The port wing will be joined in the equipping phase by the first starboard (right-side) wing. After equipping and full testing, the wings will be delivered from Filton to the A400M aircraft final assembly line in Seville, Spain on the A300-600ST “Beluga” aircraft.

Charles Paterson, Head of A400M Wing for Airbus said: “Seeing the whole wing come together so quickly and efficiently is a tribute to the whole team. We still have some intensive work ahead of us to ensure we continue to remain on schedule, but today is one of intense pride and celebration as the aircraft takes shape”.

Dick Ovens, Head of A400M Wing Manufacturing at Airbus, said: “The new, state-of-the-art, jigs and tools with automated machinery, including high- precision automated wing drilling equipment, have impressed all who have seen them. They are performing exceptionally well and have in many instances already surpassed our expectations for quality and repeatability”.

Airbus UK – the Airbus Wing Centre of Excellence – is responsible for the overall management and design of the A400M wing, leading the international team from its Filton, Bristol site. Filton is also the centre for A400M wing assembly as well as manufacturing 20 of the 48 metallic ribs in each wing set – rib production began in February 2006.

The wing box consists of pre- assembled leading and trailing edges made of composite spars, metallic ribs and 20m long composite wing skins which incorporate integrated stringers (longitudinal stiffeners). The facility is equipped with two sets of new, state-of-the-art wing assembly jigs and tools – including automated machinery such as the purpose-built composite automated wing drilling equipment. A third set of wing assembly jigs will be installed at the production rate.

The A400M, military transport aircraft, will first fly in 2008, with deliveries beginning from 2009.

Designed specifically to meet the demanding conditions of the European staff requirement, the A400M is providing the world's air forces with a much-needed replacement for their ageing fleets of C-160 Transalls and C-130 Hercules and will provide the rapid reaction capability that is essential in responding to crisis situations.

With its high cruise speed, intercontinental range and voluminous cargo hold, the A400M will significantly increase the load-carrying capacity of the aircraft it will replace, whilst retaining their essential tactical, short and soft field operating characteristics.