Tests Conducted At French Military Base Earlier This Month

One of the critical tests for any airliner is its ability to safely land on runways with standing water from heavy rains.

Earlier this month, an Airbus A350-1000 was purposely run along an inundated surface at the Istres Air Force Base in southern France, demonstrating the airplanes robustness and to secure its maturity from entry-into-service, according to an Airbus news release.

For these tests, crewmembers progressively accelerated the aircraft through the standing water five times at speeds from 80 to 140 knots, with the A350-1000 performing as expected.

The trials were documented with video and photo coverage, as well as the first use of a camera-equipped drone to provide airborne views of the test runs.

As the latest member of Airbus’ leading widebody family, the A350-1000 is scheduled to enter airline operation before year-end. In addition to having a longer fuselage accommodating 40 more passengers than the A350-900 version currently in service, the A350-1000 also features more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, a modified wing trailing-edge and new six-wheel main landing gear.

(Image provided with Airbus news release)

FMI: www.airbus.com