Airbus’s Hamburg facility has taken delivery of the first A350 freighter section 19, the aerostructure which is located aft of the main fuselage barrel and interfaces with the empennage.
It has been produced at the airframer’s Spanish facilities in Getafe.
Manufacture has required a rethink of the plant’s production system, because the section features modifications introduced specially for the A350-1000F.
These include the addition of a guard plate which is designed to protect the aircraft’s composite fuselage if the operator uses a ground prop while loading the aircraft.
While Airbus says the A350-1000F has been designed to resist tail-tipping, the airframer also previously indicated that it would include features to reassure operators – such as nose-gear tie-down or a tail-prop point.
“The modification is designed to protect the aircraft from unexpected [movement] during loading,” says A350 freighter engineering head Manuel Garcia.
Airbus sought to avoid disrupting the production line for the A350 sections, and opted to maintain commonality until the final stage of manufacture when those intended for the freighter are transferred to a new station for the modification work.
“Although the protector may seem simple, fitting it required a re-organisation of the line, ensuring we met the highest quality standards without interfering with the production of other aircraft,” says Getafe value stream project manager Isabel Nieto.
Airbus says completion of the initial section 19 “marks a key step forward in the new freighter’s production”.
Its first flight-test aircraft will enter final assembly this year, although the entry into service has been pushed back to 2027 as a result of supply-chain issues.
