A350 at a "crossroads"

[n_kitson]

This article from Flight International. I'm really curious as to what the differences between an all-new design vs. the current way will be.<br /><br /><font color="yellow"><br />Airbus is at a 'crossroads' on A350 design, says ILFC's Udvar-Hazy <br /><br />Airbus must decide before June on whether to refine the specification of its A350 medium twin jet further or commit to a new, thoroughly upgraded design, it was warned yesterday by a major lessor.<br /><br />International Lease Finance (ILFC) chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy, speaking at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) conference in Orlando, Florida, said that while the current A350 is essentially a derivative of the A330 medium range twin jet, a new design could form the backbone of the manufacturer’s future widebody fleet. <br /><br />“I think the latest version of the A350 looks excellent. But it still has some elements left over from early models of the [manufacturer’s] widebody family. Airbus needs to address will they have a new family of aircraft,” says Udvar-Hazy.<br /><br />He adds that Airbus is “at a crossroads” on building the A350 “as presented today” based on the A330 platform or committing to a new widebody design.<br /><br />Should Airbus commit to serious A350 changes, it will be “an $8 billion to $10 billion decision” and “will have to be made between now and the Farnborough Air Show”, Udvar-Hazy says.<br /><br />ILFC in November struck a deal to take 12 A350s, after Airbus completed a round of improvements to the twinjet’s specification that the US lessor later said addressed its design concerns. ILFC further showed its commitment to the aircraft in February when it ordered another four of the type.<br /><br />Nonetheless, Udvar-Hazy sees the A350 as a response by Airbus after being “stunned” and “caught a little bit behind the power curve” when rival Boeing shifted gears from the Sonic Cruiser plan to developing a new family of aircraft with the 787.<br /></font>/safety_wrapper>

 

[nibb31]

That sounds silly. Even if the A350 is based on the A340 airframe, it only dates back to the early 90's. When compared to planes like the 747, it's still in it's infancy.<br /><br />They are updating all the avionics, the cockpit, the engines, construction materials and lots of details.<br /><br />The airframe itself seems to be a pretty good design, so what's the point in changing it just for the sake of it?

 

[rocketman5000]

I've said it here before, and I'll say it again. The 747 of today is not the same bird that entered service back in 1970. The engine have become true high bypass ratio engines. Escentially they have the same age in their designs. In fact you could say that the 747 is more advanced as the reason for its pronounce "hump" was to follow area rule calculations. It was found while testing design iterations in the wind tunnel that they could add the hump at no additional drag penality. A great advantage at high mach numbers

 

[yurkin]

The 787 is a lot more advanced then she looks.<br />The avionics are from various 4th generation fighters. And the wing is from the B2 stealth bomber. There’s other stuff too. Its going to be challenging for airbus to compete with only 1990s technology.<br />

 

[rocketman5000]

I agree. I think there is likely many things in the 787 that has come from projects such as the sonic cruiser. The aerodymanic data obtained on that project should be very useful in the transonic flight regeme of the 787. I doubt however the wing is from the B2 bomber. That flys at too low of a speed and wasn't developed by Boeing<br /><br />Airbus came out of the gate strong with their A380. It is looking less and less attractive as time is passing.

 

[yurkin]

The aerodynamics of the wings is very different, but the material is the same. They also learned a lot about how to build big composite wings. <br />Boeing was partnered with Northrop in the B2-Spirit project. Their main role was “primary structural components,” the wings and aft fuselage. <br />

 

[scottb50]

I don't think the 787 is transonic. A composite wing would be nice though. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>