The Airbus plant in Stade, northern Germany, has launched the assembly and equipping of the A380 vertical tail plane, or VTP. The A380 vertical tail plane has a surface120 square metres and integrates many components manufactured in different types of material.

The Airbus plant in Stade is a centre of excellence for carbon fibre reinforced plastic manufacturing and producing the VTP’s spars, ribs, rudder fittings and skin panels. Other parts for the VTP come from Airbus’ facilities in Puerto Real, Spain for the rudders, fin tips and dorsal fins, and from Varel, Germany which manufactures complex machined parts.

Key external suppliers include Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries, which produces the leading and trailing edge sub-assemblies, as well as the carbon fibre reinforced plastic and metal fin tip, and Labinal, which designs and manufactures the tail’s main electrical cabling, or harnesses.

Several new assembly technologies were introduced to Stade’s production line in a bid to introduce even greater efficiency to the manufacturing process. Much of the A380 tail is produced from carbon fibre reinforced plastic and to ensure that the outer shape is perfectly smooth, Airbus applies a levelling material, or shim, between the inner parts and the skin panels. Airbus has now largely automated the shim preparation and application technique, slashing the application time of the material and ensuring maximum density.

Once assembled, the A380 VTP will be transported by truck to the River Elbe, where it will be loaded onto a barge and sent to Hamburg at the end of May 2004.

After painting in Hamburg, the tail’s lower rudder will be detached and sent in the Beluga transport aircraft to the A380 final assembly hall in Toulouse. The rest of the tail will follow in mid-June 2004 by sea and road.

FMI: www.airbus.com