Castors help Airbus Wings to Fly
What does Airfix and Airbus have in common? The answer is they both build planes in kit format! One is the largest toy plane kit manufacturer and the latter Airbus, builds some of the largest planes in the world, piecing together different kit parts manufactured in different countries all over the world.
What does Airfix and Airbus have in common? The answer is they both build planes in kit format! One is the largest toy plane kit manufacturer and the latter Airbus, builds some of the largest planes in the world, piecing together different kit parts manufactured in different countries all over the world. The A380 Airbus superjumbo took its maiden flight in 2005 and deserved its title as the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Its major ‘kit’ parts are manufactured in four countries France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. However this poses a significant problem for the Airbus assembly team. Each part of this enormous plane is by itself, too heavy to be transported by air. Surface transportation with the aid of castors, was initially the only sensible solution.
The wings for the superjumbo are manufactured in Bristol and North Wales. The underside composite wings are manufactured in Spain. These British made wings for the superjumbo are exceptionally large, each being fifty meters long, fourteen metres wide and weighing thirty six tonnes each. The enormous wings are manufactured on a rack of stands on castors, and once complete are transported by barge down the River Dee. The heavy duty castors utilised during the manufacturing process varies from cast iron castors running on rail tracks to heavy duty polyurethane castors on the transportation jig. Once manufactured the wings start a fifteen mile barge journey heads towards the Port of Mostyn. Here the wings are rolled on castors onto a specially adapted ferry. The wings, together with their transportation jig on castors and multi-purpose vehicle weigh 200 tonnes. This makes the transportation jig on castors far too heavy to transport by air, so the sea crossing to St. Nazaire and by barge to the assembly hall at Toulouse is the most effective route. The estuary at Port Mostyn has even had to be regularly dredged in order to ensure the safe passage of these heavily loaded ferries containing wings.
However the ingenious Airbus has developed their own transportation plane to collect and deliver aircraft parts and awkward sized cargo. This modified plane has been affectionately named The Beluga after its intriguing shape and size, resembling the body and nose of a Beluga Whale. Lower wing composites, for example, which are manufactured on a frame on castors in Spain, are transported to the assembly halls in Toulouse by the Beluga cargo plane. These enormous composite wings are packed into a frame on castors and rolled into the Beluga cargo plane and off again at Toulouse.
With so many parts coming from a variety of companies and countries the manufacturing process of this superjumbo can take a considerable amount of time. Since its launch Airbus have received two hundred and fifty three orders, and delivered sixty seven planes, which represents how popular this super jumbo is with the worlds airlines. With a delivered cost of 300 to 400 million pounds, this expensive super jumbo will in the future be a common sight in the skies.
