The first of 12 Airbus A350-1000ULRs ordered by Australian carrier Qantas has taken its first flight fron the home of Airbus in Toulouse, France.
The aircraft forms part of Qantas’ Project Sunrise programme to offer ultra-long range non-stop flights such as London to Sydney.
The flight lasted for 3 hours and 46 minutes and was flown by a dedicated Airbus test crew. During the flight, the aircraft (MSN707) flew to just above 41,000 feet.
Airbus’ flight test team on this flight consisted of Experimental Test Pilots Thomas Wilhelm and Anthony Flynn, together with Test Flight Engineer Laurent Rossignol. In addition, Lead Flight Test Engineers Tuan Do and Alexia Plumet were onboard, as well as Ground Test Engineer Vincent Frayssinet.
MSN707 is equipped with a range of specialist flight test equipment, which will be used as the flight test programme carries out performance checks and test the new fuel system architecture that is unique to the ULR.
Once the test programme is complete, the aircraft will be fitted out with Qantas’ cabin and delivered to the airline. Tne first A350-1000ULR delivery is scheduled for April 2027.