Airbus A350F freighter set for first flight from Toulouse

Airbus will fly its A350F freighter for the first time on September 29 from Toulouse-Blagnac airport, opening the flight-test programme for the manufacturer's new large cargo aircraft.

The first test aircraft, MSN700 and registered F-WXLD, is due to depart at 10:20 local time. It has already completed two high-speed rejected-takeoff runs in the final stage of ground testing. Five people will be on board: two pilots and three test engineers.

Airbus says the opening sortie will examine aerodynamic performance, handling qualities and the autopilot. Certification work will then continue with two A350Fs, accumulating around 400 flight-test hours across about nine months.

Assembly at Toulouse took an extended period. Airbus finished the wings of the first test frame there and fitted the freighter's large main-deck cargo doors. Those doors, built from composite materials and opened by electric actuators, sit in the rear fuselage so that loading remains balanced. They measure roughly 4.5m wide and 4.3m tall.

Airbus states the A350F can carry up to 111 tonnes (about 245,000lb) over a range of up to 8,700km (5,400 miles). About 70% of its structure is carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer, titanium and aluminium, which the company says leaves it some 46 tonnes lighter than competing large freighters and reduces fuel burn and operating cost per tonne of cargo carried.

The A350F is the cargo variant of the A350 widebody family.