Airbus has ticked another box in its A350XWB development program with the arrival of the first wings for first aircraft, which will be used for static testing. Â The A350 wing, which is manufactured in Broughton, England, is the largest single aerospace component made from composites, Â 105 feet long by nearly 20 feet wide.
This is a positive step for the program, as just a few weeks ago difficulties in wing manufacturing had caused an additional three month delay for the program. Â With this delivery, the wing manufacturing appears to be moving forward, and hopefully no longer the critical path item to production and certification.
While only time will tell if the difficulties in wing manufacturing tooling have been solved, delivery of the wing will enable construction of the first airplane and initiation of the static testing needed for certification. Â It will be interesting watching this gigantic composite wing as it bends during the testing process once the first aircraft is assembled.
