Which could not have come at a better time for them. With the issues plaguing the 787 Dreamliner, and the delays that marred the A350, this is a good time for Airbus to do some PR. With over 400 aircrafts on order, and offering better space, fuel efficiency and the latest in Aircraft design, the A350 was rolled out for public viewing and will now undergo a series of tests/checks before it's first test flight. Flight testing can last between 600-10,000 flight hours and several flight cycles to put the Aircraft thru it's paces and test full system functionality. Picture copyright - Airbus.com
Seems about 2X times an A320 .. Its got those curved wing tips .. which you usually see in smaller Personal jets. The Engine is a Rolls Royce Trent XWB which is its latest powerplant .. and amongst its most powerful engines.
Airbus jas just lost its controversy creating point, the Dreamliner is flying now.. !! the most awesome and awesome plane ever !!
The winglets reduce drag by reducing the amount of wind vortices created on the tips. It's a staple design feature on nearly all modern aircrafts. Some old 767s are also being retro-fitted with these winglets to improve efficiency. These can make a difference of 3-5%. Boeing uses a slightly different approach by changing the rake angle (wing angle) on the tips to achieve the same, increasing the efficiency more than winglets. This can carry upto 350 passengers in a 2 Cabin layout or 310-320 in a 3 cabin layout. Interior space wise, what is special about the A350 is that unlike current Airbus widebody aircrafts, this aircraft is a straight pipe, right from the first door to the last door. (Airbus aircrafts taper towards the rear, reducing the available width in the cabin). This is marginally wider than the existing widebody fuselage, and falls in-between the 787 and 777 (wider than the 787, narrower than the 777). However the XWB or eXtra-Wide-Body naming is to indicate the oval fuselage that allows for one additional seat (width wise)
