One Of Several Componants Arriving For Assembly Of The New Airliner

Spirit AeroSystems reports that it has shipped the first production composite center fuselage panels for the Airbus A350 XWB program out of its Kinston, NC, facility. The Section 15 fuselage panels are being sent to Saint-Nazaire, France, where final upper shell assembly will occur.

Fuselage Panel

Section 15 of the fuselage consists of the center composite upper and forward lower shells manufactured by Spirit.

"Our North Carolina team has worked hard to achieve this important milestone," said Dan Wheeler, vice president-general manager, North Carolina business unit. "With help from our customer, we have successfully integrated with Airbus methods, tools, processes and systems. Shipment of these composite fuselage panels represents a significant achievement for Spirit employees as we work with Airbus to meet all their requirements and delivery schedules for the pre-final assembly phase."

Spirit won a contract with Airbus in May 2008 to design and produce the A350 XWB's composite center fuselage section. Spirit also designs and builds the spar and fixed leading edge for the A350 XWB.

Nose Section

The panels are among several pieces being fabricated shipped to France from over the past several weeks as the new airliner takes shape. Airbus reports that Premium Aerotec has successfully put together the first forward fuselage for the A350 XWB at Nordenham, Germany. Structural assembly work on the all-composite fuselage, comprosed of four panels and the floor grid, will continue over the coming weeks before it is transported by boat to Airbus’ Hamburg site for systems installation.

Meanwhile, the first A350 XWB nose section has been transported by Beluga to Airbus in St Nazaire from partner company Aerolia’s site in Méaulte. The A350 XWB nose section comprises three main sub-assemblies: the cockpit plus upper and lower forward fuselage parts, which incorporate door one and the nose landing gear bay. Once assembled and equipped, the nose section will be joined to the forward fuselage to form together the A350 XWB front fuselage.

And assembly of the aircraft's horizontal tailplane (HTP) is underway in Getafe, Spain. Joining of the two lateral boxes will produce the 55-foot long primary structure of the HTP. Structural assembly will continue over the coming weeks, followed by installation of the unit’s electric and hydraulic systems. Once the assembly and equipping work is finished, the HTP will be flown by Airbus’ Beluga transport aircraft to the final assembly line in Toulouse, France.

FMI: www.spiritaero.com, www.airbus.com