First A350 XWB nose landing gear installed in test facility

Blagnac,  28 marzo 2011

The first A350 XWB nose landing gear produced by Liebherr Aerospace has been successfully installed in the A350 XWB landing gear systems test facility in Filton (UK)

In the coming weeks, the main landing gear supplied by Messier-Dowty will be installed and preliminary testing of all three landing gear legs will start. Full integration testing will begin with the entry into service of the facility towards the end of 2011. These tests are carried out to demonstrate reliability and maturity in addition to providing evidence for certification, especially with regards to the extension-retraction, braking and steering systems.

The test facility, called « landing gear zero », is part of a series of integration test benches specifically developed to test the A350 XWB systems in order to ensure that the aircraft meets the highest standards of in-service reliability from day one. Other A350 XWB system integration tests facilities such as this one are "cabin zero" for testing the integration of cabin systems into the cabin structure and "aircraft zero" known also as the "iron bird" for testing the integration of the hydraulic, electric and flight control systems.