Airbus presents the first Long Range A350-900

Airbus today (28/02) presented the first A350-900 Long Range version. The aircraft has just finished the assembly process and will still receive the final paint job and engines.</p> Before the engines are fitted to the aircraft, it will be sent to a ground test unit.</p> To create the A350-900 ULR (Ultra Long Range), Airbus increased the aircraft's fuel tank capacity by 24 liters, without the presence of extra tanks. A new version was created to increase the MTOW (maximum takeoff weight) by 5 tons, thus increasing the current -275 from 900 tons to 280 tons.</p> In addition, Airbus has equipped the aircraft with new winglets. The new winglet for the A350 is inspired by the Sharklet, used on the A320neo family, and can improve the fuel consumption of the A2XWB by up to 350% (considering the A350-1000). In addition to increasing the height of this component, Airbus has changed the design to improve airflow.</p> Along with other modifications to the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines planned for 2020, the A350-900 will be up to 5% more fuel efficient compared to the first production A350-900.</p> The engine upgrades and new winglets will also be available for other versions of the A350 XWB, the first from 2020 and the second from the end of 2018.</p> The manufacturer expects to certify the aircraft soon, but has not released a timeline for this. The changes are few, and the test program will be short, with a low number of flight hours.</p> The first company to operate this aircraft will be Singapore Airlines, which has ordered seven aircraft to operate flights between Singapore and the United States, without any stopovers.</p> The highlight is the Singapore-New York flight, with a distance of over 15300 km. The aircraft's maximum range is 17960 km, the longest ever seen on a commercial aircraft of this size.</p></p>