First complete wing set delivered to A400M final assembly line

The first compete set of A400M wings was today delivered from Airbus UK's Filton production facility to the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Seville, Spain.

Transported by the Beluga Super Transport, the wing set, consisting of the left and right outer wing boxes, will join the centre wing box that was delivered to Seville in March.

Largely made out of carbon fibre reinforced plastic material (CRFP), the centre and outer wing boxes will be joined together at the FAL to form a complete wing structure having a span of 42.4 metres.

This first A400M wing is destined for integration into the static test airframe which is currently undergoing completion at the static test facility in Getafe, Madrid, and will be transported there from Seville by road.

Other major sub-assemblies have already been delivered to Seville where final assembly of the first test aircraft will begin during the first half of this year with first flight scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

To date Airbus Military has received firm orders for 192 aircraft from nine customer nations.