Aircraft
Airbus Outlines A350-1000 Flight Test Plans
Three prototypes to fly 1,600 test hours
The first of three Airbus A350-1000 flight-test aircraft took to the air on November 24. (Photo: Airbus)
The first of three Airbus A350-1000 flight-test aircraft took to the air on November 24. (Photo: Airbus)

Airbus plans a 1,600-hour flight-test schedule for the three A350-1000s that it will use to certify the new stretched variant of the widebody twinjet, the first of which flew on November 24. The scheduled first-flight profile took the initial aircraft – manufacturer's serial number (MSN059) – to an altitude of some 25,000 feet and up to the maximum operating limit speed.