By Max Kingsley-Jones in Hamburg and Toulouse
Airbus expects to undertake a 5h “virtual first flight” of the cabin installed on A380 MSN002 in Hamburg this week, as it prepares to begin the first passenger flight trials of the ultra-large aircraft.
MSN002 is the first of two test aircraft dedicated to cabin trials for the A380 programme. The installation of a three-class, 474-seat cabin was recently completed at Hamburg Finkenwerder in Germany (seating configuration is pictured below). The aircraft is being prepared to undertake the “early long flights” (ELF) phase of the test programme from Toulouse next month. MSN002 was last week undergoing final checks in Finkenwerder ahead of the “virtual flight” test.
Andreas Fehring, vice-president of Airbus’s cabin/cargo customisation aircraft component management team, says the virtual first flight will enable all A380 cabin systems to be evaluated in a real operational environment and will also provide familiarisation for the cabin crew for the ELF tests.
“Four hundred and seventy-four passengers and 22 cabin crew will use MSN002 for a 5h virtual flight on the ground,” he says. “This will provide us with our first knowledge of how the cabin is accepted by passengers and cabin crew.”
For the duration of the “flight”, the auxiliary power unit and air generation units will be operated. “If needed, we will use additional ground power carts, but we will not run the engines,” says Fehring. The test will be supported by system specialists and selected suppliers.
The “flight” will operate through a series of “storyboards” for each passenger to test each of the cabin systems. These will include all flight phases – boarding, taxi, take-off and climb; two cabin service and two relaxation periods; the descent, landing and taxi; and disembarkation.
All on-board systems such as toilets, in-flight entertainment (the Thales system is installed in MSN002), cabin communication, lighting, trolley lifts and air conditioning will be put through their paces to “verify the cabin maturity”, says Fehring. “The crew will also use their rest facilities and give us feedback,” he adds.
The ELF effort will involve MSN002 operating a series of long duration round-trip flights from Toulouse with Airbus staff on board to provide initial feedback on the cabin, ahead of the route-proving programme with the second cabin test aircraft (MSN007) in the third quarter.
|
The storyboard above (click to enlarge) shows dedicated system tests to be performed on the Airbus A380 MSN002's early long flights. The test assume permanent normal usage of in-flight entertainment, in-seat power supply and system class store. |
 |
| The installation of a three-class, 474-seat cabin was recently completed at Hamburg Finkenwerder in Germany. Click the image above to enlarge. |
Source: Flight International
