The furnace-like UAE summer is enough to send most people scurrying for shade or into the confines of an air-conditioned room, but for Airbus it has provided ideal conditions to test its new A350 XWB in the Al Ain desert.
The aircraft was put through four test flights last week amid the searing 40°-plus desert heat to check that its mechanics can withstand the extreme temperatures.
“The objective of these tests, required for certification, is to check the engines, APU [auxiliary power unit] performance and systems behaviour in hot weather conditions both on the ground and in-flight,” an Airbus spokesman said.
He said the airplane’s systems were monitored – on the ground and in the air – after a day soaking up the scorching Al Ain sun.
The aircraft is set to enter service in the fourth quarter, with Qatar Airways slated to be its first customer, according to Airbus.
Etihad Airways has ordered 62 A350s, while Qatar Airways is to receive 80. In total, Airbus said that it had 742 firm orders from 38 customers.
This month Emirates cancelled its order for 70 A350s, valued in 2007 at US$16 billion. Airbus said the move followed "ongoing discussions with the airline in light of their fleet requirement review".
The A350 has so far performed more than 2,000 test hours during more than 460 flights and expects to receive certification in the third quarter.
As a testing ground, Al Ain has not just been restricted to Airbus’s A350.
“The A380 hot tests have also been carried out in Al Ain,” the Airbus spokesman said.
ioxborrow@thenational.ae
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