global briefing
“It is becoming a true
trans-Pacific airplane”
angle of attack flights at high altitudes and
some testing on handling qualities.
“We expect a lot of similarity in terms of
performance. We have only one flight planned
for the certification of the aircraft – it’s not a
major certification flight test program.”
REINFORCEMENTS
The extra weight capacity has been enabled
by structural reinforcements made to the
wings and fuselage and upgrades to the
landing gear, including to the tires, brakes
and wheels, which have also increased the
maintenance interval for the landing gear
from 10 to 12 years.
Lucas-Ugena said, “The reinforcements
were made without increasing the overall
weight by achieving savings through
optimization of the aircraft in other places.
These changes don’t impact on its operations.”
10 MARCH 2020 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
For regular news updates:
AerospaceTestingInternational.com
A330: A growing
wide-body family
The A330 first took to the air as the A330-300 variant
in 1992 with the smaller A330-200 following in 1998,
mainly to compete against Boeing’s long-range
767-300ER.
The A330-200 has a range of 7,250 nautical miles
with 247 passengers, the A330-300 can cover up to
6,350 nautical miles with 277 passengers. These
aircraft, which can be powered by General Electric
CF6, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or the Rolls-Royce Trent
700, are called the A330ceo (current engine option)
The A330neo (new engine option) was launched in
2014. The -800 and -900 versions are based on the
-200 and -300 versions, with ranges extended by the
use of the larger Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine and
improved aerodynamics.
The heavy weight versions of the -800 and -900
were first announced at the time of the A330neo’s first
flight in October 2017. The range of the 251 tonne
A330-800 is 8,150 nautical miles, while the 251 tonne
variant of the -900 is 7,200 nautical miles.
As of December 2019, Airbus had taken 1,823 orders
for A330 aircraft of which 1,492 have been delivered of
which 1,443 are in operation.
The last A330ceo, a -300 variant, was delivered to
Aer Lingus on February 28, although Airbus will
continue to make military variants of the aircraft.
// The A330-900 and
-800 variants have
95% commonality in
terms of spares and
components and are
very similar to operate
According to Airbus the 251 tonne variant
of the A330-900 retains 99% commonality in
terms of parts and components with the
other A330neos.
-800 IN 2020
A heavy weight version of the A330-800 is
planned to enter into service next year. The
-800, which achieved EASA and FAA
certification last month, is 5m (16ft) shorter
than the -900 with a lower seat capacity –
406 compared to 460.
The structural and landing gear
modifications will significantly extend the
range of the aircraft from its existing range to
8,150 nautical miles. The flight testing of the
heavy weight version of the -800 is expected
to take around the same length of time and
be conducted between February and July
in 2021. \\
“The reinforcements were made
without increasing the overall
weight by achieving savings
through optimization of the
aircraft in other places”
/AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
/AerospaceTestingInternational.com