The Test Airframe Has Successfully Completed The Number Of Required Simulated Flight-Cycles

Airbus Military has successfully completed the number of required simulated flight-cycles on a full scale test airframe to achieve civil type certification of the A400M by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

1,665 simulated flights are required for European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification of the A400M. Airubs planned a total of 25,000 simulated flights over an 18 month period - equating to 2.5 times the A400M's design-life. Static testing of another A400M test airframe, MSN5000 was completed in Madrid in September 2010. That airframe continues to be used for further fatigue tests of composite structures which will last until early 2012.

The test program is required to simulate flights at least one year ahead of the actual operations performed by the aircraft. The test specimen at Dresden, known as MSN5001, has now undergone the required number of cycles, which equates to about five times the maximum number of flights expected to be recorded annually by each A400M in service, in order to give a large safety margin.

The German government recently reached an agreement with Airbus to buy 53 of the A400M airlifters, and plans to sell 13 to outside parties. That agreement reportedly removed the final hurdle to completing the long-overdue and over-budget transport aircraft. A consortium of European governments which had been working to rescue the project agreed to a price increase that will push the overall cost of the aircraft to the various governments to nearly $2.7 billion.

FMI: www.airbus.com