Good news, keeping fingers crossed.

No, VinRouge, they are resuming the reliability test, not restarting it. While some parts of the work covered in the previously completed 160 aircraft flight hours might need to be covered again, they don't have to repeat the entire process.

First three production A400Ms
 

The final assembly line actually looking like, well, a final assembly line

Interesting... thread shows a "page 11" with "posts 201-203", but won't let me access page 11. Lets see if this gets me in.

{edit: well, it says this is post #201. Fun.)

For folks that like high definition: first three production A400M's on the production line, for delivery next year.

http://www.sldinfo.com/wp-content/up...er-20-2012.jpg

It must be siesta time, not a soul in sight in the photo link in the previous post!

Look again. It's the scale.

There's a person walking alongside the rear wall, possibly two more at the top of the fin of the far aeroplane and the ghost of someone by 0008's No3 engine (Obviously a visiting foreign engineer who moved too fast for the camera shutter). Siesta time it is.

I make it 12 people in that picture.

green granite,

9-10 in the lane in the back,
3 close to the nose of msn 9,
1 making a call under its wing,
1 in the office under the msn 9 wingtip
3 guys working the tail of msn 10(?)

and a few maybe's.

At least 17 :8

;)

So a full work-shift then!

:E

Nice to see an A400 over Lincolnshire, yesterday. Routed over Coningsby and Cranwell. :ok:

Wot no flying carpets? BORING



Seriously though, nice set up with the staging.

Ah happy [mostly] memories of Toulouse indeed.

I see the French are on yet another tea break... No engineers around or are they hiding inside the aircraft...

Nice picture...:ok:

TEEEJ - it got as far as Lossiemouth too!

Was nice to see it up at Lossiemouth.

The A400M FAL is in Seville.

Yep.












;)

A400M completes F&R flight-test phase
 

Airbus Military A400M completes critical flight-test phase - Airbus Military

forthcomming lectures
 

Some of you may beinterested in the forthcoming RAeS A400M lectures. 9th Jan atBedford ARA and 7th Feb Ed Strongman (test Pilot) at Cambridge. Thisis our Sir Arthur Marshall named lecture at Downing Coll and if last year isanything to go by it will be standing room only.

Come and find out thereal story. I can’t stand the BS on here particularly about 02 certificationand Certification generally. We had AvP 970 which became Def Stan 00-970 withclear guidance and pass/fail, go/no go criteria. These days things are moreflexible and tailored.

I know the C&Qteam have worked hard with other nations and stood up to airbus on occasion. Afew things are certain: the T&E will be over budget. (Q2 will see to thateven thought they are embedded in the Combined Trials Team they will advise theIPT not to accept advice from other nations T&E organisations. – I hope theIPT stand up to them)

The aircraft will be astep change in capability over the C130.

The x locks in the CHSwill never meet the 10 to the minus 9 criteria but I am no longer the poorbugger that has to recommend that bit is signed up.
I am looking forward to seeing it in UK servicebut we will never have enough of them. Just hope that when the time comes wecan afford it.

BBC report of A400M at Brize Norton
 

Here's the BBC take on the visit to BZN on Friday 1 March. BBC News - Taking to the skies on RAF's new transport plane

Airbus Military's A400M aircraft is poised to take off - Telegraph

Also in today's Torygraph!

It appears that someone has pushed the 'publicity' button.

Remind me what was the orignal in service date.

Defense news: Joint Venture To Train RAF Crews on Atlas A400M

LONDON — Royal Air Force crews set to fly the new Atlas A400M airlifter are to be trained by a joint venture company set up by Airbus Military and Thales UK. The deal is contracted to run for 18 years at a cost of 226 million pounds ($340 million), the joint venture company, known as A400M Training Services, announced Monday.

Separately, the Ministry of Defence revealed it is spending 80 million pounds to modify the Atlas aircraft so it can be fitted with a large aircraft infrared countermeasures system.

The training facility being built at the Brize Norton home of the RAF’s airlifter and inflight refueling fleets is scheduled to be completed in spring 2014, just ahead of the delivery date of the first A400M to the RAF. Air crew and ground maintenance and support personnel will be trained at the Atlas facility using Thales-supplied simulators and other synthetic systems. Thales secured the simulator supply deal in 2007 following a competition.

RAF personnel are already being trained at an Airbus training facility alongside the Seville, Spain, assembly base for the aircraft

MSN7 First flight
 

First production Airbus Military A400M makes maiden flight - Airbus Military

Just returned, nice to get a FF under my belt! :D

Good for you! Can you tell us more? :ok:

Hey TT - good to hear from you! Great news that the first production aircraft has made its maiden flight...:ok:

I'll bet you're glad I poached you from 99 and started you off on your civvy career - you wouldn't have had so much fun in what's left of the RAF!

It was good to see you at F'boro last year - despite the pi$$ing b£oody rain!

CM and Beagle, not much more to say really, the PR sums it up nicely, apart from which, I have to whizz off for the celebration dinner in town! :ok:

Shades of grey
 

Slightly different shade of grey on MSN 7. "Merde gris" is what someone called it on another discussion board. :=

Type Certificate
 

EASA Type Certificate EASA.A.169 was received today.
http://www.easa.europa.eu/certificat...3-13032013.pdf
:ok:

For some reason I just read the certificate. Why?

I did notice something interesting, though.

It describes the aircraft as

And goes on to define

However, we then find that

Transport aircraft aren't what they used to be, are they? :cool:

This must be the restricted type certification with full to come.
I didn't look in any great detail but this only clears up to 31000ft when the ac operates up to at least 37000ft.

theboywide wrote:
>This must be the restricted type certification with full to come.

No, the RTC was already issued April 30th, 2012.

So you are claiming that this, which forbids carrying any passengers or cargo, is the full type certification?

For a gawddam cargo plane?

MTOW is also almost 20,000lbs below original spec (132T iso 141T) which gives limited room for cargo and pax at all, certainly when you look at the
Max Landing Weight of 117.7T(originally122T) and empty weight of 77T,
with full fuel that would make 127T and thus only room for 5T of Cargo.

Temporary restricted type certification, I would like to think.

You reckon? Either that or it's a hell of a big beast just to transport two pilots around the world. Not even a hostie. :eek:

There may be some confusion here between the stage the aircraft has reached with respect to its civil as opposed to its military certification.

Pretty normal in militairy programs.

Futher testing, analyses will lead to expanded capability approvals and the final operating configuration.

This aircraft will go through the qualifications of a passenger transport on civil airways, tactical transport on soft short runways at night, tanker for jets and helicopters, receiver. Mountains of certfication and paperwork..

Airbus Military's A400M: in pictures - Telegraph

No tanker role for UK A400Ms
 

http://www.flightglobal.com/Assets/G...x?ItemID=49856

No tanker role for UK A400Ms

But:

So if the Brits change their minds in say 3 years they can still order kits.

So, nothing to do with the AirTanker contract then.....:rolleyes:

I guess the UK has no plans to refuel helicopters?