There is crossover with efforts to bring the world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft to market by 2035, an Airbus project known as ZEROe.
ZEROe is exploring three possible designs, two of which appear to be compatible with the long, thin composite wings produced by Wing of Tomorrow (the other is a Concorde-style blended wing).
“We’re always trying to explore more than one option so that we can make a trade-off,” says Partridge. “One of the things about working on a technology programme is that you learn what doesn’t work as well as what does.”
The first of the three wing designs under consideration for ZEROe is now at Airbus’s Airtec facility in Bristol, where it has been attached to a “strong wall” for 12 months of stress tests. These will culminate in a dramatic trial late next year, which will see it subjected to ever increasing forces until it snaps.
Back at the AMRC, the two other wings take centre stage. One sits behind ceiling-height plastic curtains, while the other is guarded by sensors that shut down robots and automated systems should someone stray too close.
One, known as the full-equipped wing, is having 100 different technologies from 40 suppliers installed, ranging from a wide array of electronics to fuel systems. Moving control services, including flaps and slats, will be added in the coming months.
Work has also now begun on what Airbus calls the Run@Rate wing, perhaps the most important of the three since it is meant to establish just how quickly such an advanced wing could be manufactured in the real world.
Designing a new plane, winning orders and taking payment is, after all, only half the battle. Assembly lines and supply chains must be able to function under the significant stresses of accelerating build rates.
This can be a considerable challenge, as Boeing has discovered to its detriment. Production glitches led a door panel to blow out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max, leading output of its best-selling plane to slow to a trickle and crippling its finances in the process.