Airbus gives Sneak Peek into the Airliner Building Business

Airbus began final assembly on its A321XLR testbed aircraft, a major step in the program for their upcoming freighter program. The aircraft will be the first of 3 built to undergo flight testing and type certification beginning in 2022, with an eye towards entry into service sometime in 2023.

The structure sits surrounded by gantries, boxes, and platforms as personnel of the Final Assembly Line in Hamburg, Germany equip a series of major component assemblies. Parts from all over Europe have arrived in a steady stream, the nose and forward fuselage brought in from Saint Nazaire, France;  the wings from Broughton, UK; vertical stabilizer from Stade, Germany; and the horizontal stabilizer from Getafe, Spain. The variety of manufacturing locations emphasize just how distributed even a single Airbus aircraft can be. The current production at Hamburg won't be the only facility, according to Michael Menking, head of the A320 program.

Airbus shared the excitement of the occasion, publishing a series of photos showcasing the highlights of assembly. The fuselage was lifted by crane and dropped into position over waiting wings, the supports of the fuselage while they are riveted together, and the enormous jigs needed to keep the variety of parts in proper alignment. It's a rare look into the full-scale process of aircraft manufacture, but the rituals are all perfectly familiar to any other homebuilder.

The test aircraft will be left in a more variable state, ready for the installation of the necessary flight test instrumentation and other odds and ends needed for the certification process. Once complete, the plane will visit the paint booth for its first livery, then enter the ground testing phase with a flight sometime next year.

FMI: www.airbus.com