Airbus has received the first major section of the A350 twinjet at its final assembly line in Toulouse, with delivery of the forward fuselage from the Saint-Nazaire facility.
The 21m (69ft) cockpit and forward cabin has been transported to Toulouse by Airbus A300-600ST freighter.
It will form part of airframe MSN5000, the static test example, and will be mated with the centre fuselage in the first quarter of next year.
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The first vertical fin, manufactured in the German plant at Stade, arrived at the Toulouse line on 19 December, while the Hamburg facility took delivery of the first rear fuselage - assembled at Getafe in Spain - on 16 December.
Airbus will begin final assembly of MSN1, the first flight-test A350, in the second quarter of 2012.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news