Airbus A350-1000 Demonstration Tour visits Sydney
The Airbus A350-1000 made its first touchdown in Australia this evening, landing at Sydney Airport at 2224L. It will conduct a demonstration flight on Monday 12/02/2018 for Qantas representatives, before continuing on its world tour to Auckland. The aircraft is on a demonstration tour of the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and was on display at the Singapore Airshow 2018.
Jump Ahead To: Arrival, Crew Rest Day, Demonstration Flight or Departure
Saturday 10th February 2018 - Arrival
F-WLXV arriving at Sydney International Airport. After vacating Runway 34L on the ALF2 Rapid, F-WLXV taxied via ALFA to BAY 5 on the INTL1 Cargo Apron.
F-WLXV having just pulled up at Bay 5 on the International 1 Apron.
A close up view of the distinctive nose of the aircraft, and curved wing tip with the A350XWB titles.
The "1000" logo appears prominently at the rear of the fuselage, signifying the next model of the Airbus A350 line-up.
Similar to the Airbus A350-900 demonstration tour aircraft F-WWYB, the aircraft is painted in a carbon fiber livery.
Sunday 11th February 2018 - Rest Day
When you're visiting 12 destinations and traveling more than 55,000 kilometres, you need a day off somewhere on the Demonstration Tour. Airbus A350-1000 F-WLXV was on a Crew Rest Day at the Qantas Jet Base at Sydney Airport today.
After an overnight storm, Sunday morning brought blue skies once again, and the Carbon Fiber livery on the tail of F-WLXV looked beautiful in contrast. Qantas B737-800 VH-XZJ in the indigenous "Mendoowoorrji" livery is admiring the new A350-1000.
The A350-1000 has a triple bogie Main Gear, compared to the double bogie on the A350-900, and the aircraft has Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines delivering 97,000 lbs. of thrust on take-off. These engines are 25% more fuel efficient when compared to its current long range competitor.
In a standard three class configuration, the A350-1000 will seat 366 passengers in the 5.61m wide cabin. WiFi connectivity will allow passengers to stay in touch with the world, whether it is email, social networks of business.
Overall length of the A350-1000 is 73.78m, with a wing span of 64.75m, and a tail 17.08m high.
F-WLXV is seen here parked nose to nose with a Qantas Airbus A380
F-WLXV parked in a quiet area of the Qantas Jet Base - Maximum Takeoff Weight is 308 tonnes and range 14,750 km.
Monday 12th February 2018 - Demonstration Flight
Today's demonstration flight was organised to show the aircraft to Qantas representatives, who boarded the aircraft at the Qantas Jet Base. The aircraft is fitted out with some standard seating options, but as a flight test aircraft, it still has a computer workstation mid-cabin, to monitor all aspects of the flight.
F-WLXV departing on a demonstration flight with Qantas representatives onboard.
The demonstration flight departed on Runway 34L, and flew over Blacktown, Katoomba, Tarana, Cullen Bullen, Richmond, Parramatta, and along Sydney Harbour before briefly going out to sea to come around and land back on Runway 34L.
F-WLXV taxiing for departure on Taxiway ALFA
With a light load, F-WLXV rotated slightly earlier than normal, getting up before the General Holmes Drive road tunnel
Climb-out was fairly standard, and F-WLXV turned left and tracked towards Blacktown.
Monday 12th February 2018 - Departure
The Crew said they would get up early, and they didn't disappoint - Airbus A350-1000 F-WLXV departed Sydney Airport for Auckland this afternoon at 1558L. The Middle East and Asia Pacific Tour continues, and from Auckland it is on to Tokyo, Manila, and home to Toulouse.
The A350-1000 is a large and impressive aircraft as it taxies towards you.
F-WLXV slowly taxies along Taxiway ALFA to the ALFA6 Holding Point, Runway 34L.
You can't miss the fact that it's an A350-1000.
In full profile this is a long aircraft, in fact 73.78m long to be precise.
The A350-1000 is powered by the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engine with a 118in diameter fan producing 97,000lbf thrust. The Trent XWB engine on the A350-900 has the same fan diameter with slightly different blades, and produces 87,000lbf thrust.
The signature curved winglets, and triple bogie main gear help to identify the -1000. The wing on the A350-1000 is about 4% largest that the A350-900 model, increasing the wing chord by 400mm.
The carbon fiber livery on the tail is an impressive touch.
Liftoff from Runway 34L before the Taxiway Lima intersection. The first flight of the A350-1000 took place on 24th November 2016, starting a Flight Test program that would cover 1,600 flight hours. The flight testing covered the flight envelope, systems and power-plant checks, cold and warm flight conditions, landing gear tests, and high altitude operation. Following on from this was Route Proving and ETOPS assessment, along with interior layout and cabin development for certification. Finally there was functional and reliability testing, before Type Certification was achieved on 21st November 2017, awarded by EASA and the FAA.
Very impressive up close, with the A350-1000 titles on the under belly.
Gear up and ready to track to Auckland, New Zealand, a relatively short 2hr 25min hop across the Tasman Sea.
Almost cleaned-up and ready to climb-out to a planned cruising altitude of 39,000ft.
F-WLXV departing Runway 34L at Sydney Airport for Auckland, New Zealand.
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