GE Aviation has started manufacturing the novel wing fixed trailing edge package for the Airbus' A350-1000 commercial aircraft at its Aerostructures division plant in Hamble-le-Rice, England, a specialty machining operation.
It called the start of production “a milestone” in that supply program, the largest design and manufacture contract awarded in the history of its Aerostructures business.
The A350-1000 is the la
rgest version of that new passenger jet, positioned to compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, and the first Airbus aircraft with fuselage and wing structures fabricated mainly of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer.
The wings of the A350 are among the CFRP design elements, with a 213-fit wingspan that is the largest ever produced for a single-deck widebody aircraft. The wing tips curve upward into a saber-tip shape for the last 14 ft, with a a 31.9° sweep angle that is intended to increase cruising speed to Mach 0.85 and maximum operating speed to Mach 0.89.
Read the complete article on the Novel Wing Systems at American Machinist, a companion site of IndustryWeek and part of Penton's Manufacturing and Supply Chain Group.
