Flight International – 11 June 2019

40 | Flight International | 11-17 June 2019 flightglobal.com

PARIS

Special report

A

irbus will in June begin assembly
of the first structure under its Wing
of Tomorrow technology demon-
strator programme, aimed at devel-
oping a composite wing manufacturing con-
cept for a next-generation single-aisle aircraft.
The 5m (16ft) part is an initial test article
ahead of the planned assembly in 2020 of
three full-scale demonstrators at a newly built
research centre next to Airbus’s UK wing fac-
tory in Broughton, Flintshire.
Although Airbus has not yet launched a
replacement for its A320 family, the manufac-
turer appears keen to employ a carbonfibre
wing on any future single-aisle aircraft. Sue
Partridge, head of the Wing of Tomorrow
programme, told FlightGlobal in April that
the goal is for the primary wing structure to be
made from carbonfibre, while individual
components may be manufactured from
advanced metallic or thermoplastic compos-
ite materials.
Switching to a carbonfibre structure on
new-generation aircraft – such as the A350 or
Boeing 787 – has enabled airframers to im-
prove aerodynamic efficiency by building
longer, slimmer wings without the weight
penalty from a traditional metal design.
Airbus has used carbonfibre empennages
and other composite components on its air-
craft for decades – as has Boeing – and has
been able to increase production of those
parts as aircraft output has grown, especially
in the single-aisle segment. The European air-
framer intends to raise monthly output of
A320-family aircraft to 60 units this year, and
has studied potential increases beyond 70.
But conventional carbonfibre manufactur-

MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON

Michael Lindner/Airbus

Material changes

drive efficiency

Airbus is pushing the limits

of carbonfibre technology

in a bid to reduce weight

and improve aerodynamics

for the wings on its next-

generation narrowbodies

A320 final assembly takes place in Hamburg, also home to design and production sites