First stop, Parliament, for the A350-1000
At an event in parliament to celebrate the upcoming delivery of twelve A350-1000 to Virgin Atlantic, MPs met with apprentices, engineers and senior leaders from Airbus, Rolls Royce and Virgin Atlantic, as well as Virgin Atlantic cabin crew, to learn more about the aircraft.
Announced at Farnborough International Airshow in 2016, the order is worth £1.2billion to the UK, with widespread national supply chains for the aircraft wings and Rolls Royce engines.
The wings of the aircraft, designed and developed at Filton, Bristol and manufactured in Broughton, North Wales, were redesigned for the A350-1000 to accommodate for the increase in passenger numbers. Although the same span as an A350-900, 90% of the parts have been modified and the trailing edge has been extended to resize the wing for the additional payload and range.
At 32 metres long by six metres wide, the A350 XWB wing is the largest single part made from carbon fibre composite material in use in civil aviation today.
The A350-1000 is the largest member of the A350 Family, currently undergoing flight testing. As of 2021, 50 per cent of Virgin Atlantic’s fleet will be made up of the very latest aircraft, providing their passengers with the cleanest and quietest flights to amazing destinations.
Parliamentarians, including Lord Ahmad who spoke at the event, were invited to learn more about the cutting edge aircraft and engine technology. Both Virgin Atlantic and Rolls Royce gave MPs the opportunity to experience a virtual reality of the aircraft cabin and Trent XWB engines.
The A350’s environmental and economic credentials are a particular selling point, featuring the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings for a lighter aircraft, and quiet and low emission Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines that together deliver a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn.
A highly innovative design, more than 70 per cent of the A350-1000 airframe is made from advanced materials combining composites, titanium and advanced aluminium alloys, creating a lighter and more cost-efficient aircraft with materials that are also corrosion and fatigue free.
The A350 is more fuel efficient than other planes, with the new Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines generating 30 per cent lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft. It is also significantly quieter than the airline’s current planes – it will reduce the noise footprint at airports that Virgin Atlantic flies by 52 per cent.