The last A300. MSN 878
Assembly is under way in Toulouse of the very last Airbus A300/A310 Family aircraft : MSN 878, an A300-600 freighter destined for US company FedEx.
Airbus plants from across Europe have delivered all of the aircraft s main structures and work is on track for completion by summer 2007.
As the A300/A310 team works to ensure that MSN 878 is the best widebody aircraft yet , it is also in the knowledge that this final assembly is also the most challenging. With no aircraft following MSN 878, precise planning is required to ensure the plane has the right number of spares and parts during assembly.
Despite the best efforts of employees, it is always possible during the assembly process that components will be damaged and will need replacing. It is therefore important to keep small buffer stocks of parts on site so these components can be replaced quickly.
Widebody quality manager Derren Hughes explained: We analysed how we had assembled previous widebody aircraft and noted which components were at the greatest risk of damage during assembly. From this it was clear we would need stocks of components such as engine nacelles and moveable parts like flaps and slats. To ensure subcontractors supply particularly important components, such as the auxiliary power unit, in recently manufactured and excellent condition, the widebody quality and procurement teams have produced a critical equipment list that has been sent to suppliers.
Around 150 people are still working on the A300/A310 FAL and according to Georges Masini, head of A300/A310 FAL, there is understandably some sadness among employees that
the programme is ending. You become a jack of all trades working on the A300, he said. Unlike programmes with a much faster production rate, where people tend to specialise on one area of the aircraft, the slower rate of the A300/A310 means you have a hand on all parts of the plane. That way of working will be missed.
Some A300/A310 employees are already working on new projects. Forty per cent are due to go to the single-aisle programme, 30 per cent to the A380 and the remainder to the long-range programme and the Airbus centres of excellence.
MSN 878 will undergo a series of ground, fuel and pressure tests before its first flight, which is expected in April. The aircraft will then fly to Hamburg for cabin furnishing in May, before returning to Toulouse for delivery.
MSN 878 is on track for 100 per cent on time, on quality delivery, said Jose-Luis Tejedor, head of the A300/A310 programme. We firmly believe that this aircraft will be the best.
Final assembly line Final assembly line
