Airbus prepares for A330neo final assembly | ATWOnline

The first wing is moved from its jig at the Airbus Broughton facility.

Airbus is starting to pull together components in preparation for the final assembly of the first A330neo, which is scheduled to get underway in September.

In a program update, the European OEM said the industrial phase of the new model “is now fully underway” and on track for the start of final assembly, with components and sub-assemblies steadily being delivered to its Toulouse final assembly line (FAL).

The first large component for the aircraft—the center wing box—was delivered to Airbus’ Saint-Nazaire “pre-FAL” site from its Nantes plant at the end of May. Saint-Nazaire also received fuselage sections from Airbus’ Hamburg plant, as well as from Premium Aerotec and Stelia Méaulte, which enabled it to start the assembly of the aircraft’s nose and center fuselage.

In the UK meanwhile, production of the aircraft’s wings started on schedule, on May 4 at Broughton, Wales. The starboard wing was taken out of its jig on schedule prior to pre-equipping there, with the port wing following a few days later.

The first A330neo wingset will be transported to Bremen via Airbus’s specialized Beluga cargo aircraft for systems equipping.

Other components such as pylons, air inlets, nacelles, Sharklets, slats, ailerons and horizontal tailplane are under assembly at both Airbus and subcontractors’ facilities.

Meanwhile, at Rolls-Royce, the first successful ground test of a Trent 7000 development engine has taken place, with three more engines scheduled to join the program in the coming months. Extensive laboratory ground testing of the A330neo’s systems will be conducted this year using simulators and integration benches.

In Toulouse, the assembly bays are already being modified to accommodate the A330neo, as its engines will be installed at “Station 30,” earlier in the process than on earlier models. This modification will help to minimize overall assembly time.

Airbus prepares for A330neo final assembly | Manufacturers content from ATWOnline