The A350 XWB Makes Its First Flight…Virtually

Located at the company’s Toulouse, France headquarters, “Aircraft Zero” brings together the iron bird (a “skeleton” of the aircraft that serves as a full-scale test bench for the electric and hydraulic systems, as well as flight controls) with a simulator representing the A350 XWB’s flight deck.

The ground-based test campaign will last several months and is to simulate the various scenarios that could be encountered during the first flight, while also ensuring the maturity of aircraft systems.