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Old 10-02-2009 | 11:37 AM
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rickair7777
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From: Engines Turn or People Swim
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Originally Posted by FlyASA
The A350 is composite, they are just using panels instead of barrels.
True. The 350 construction technique is traditional, but the panels and stringers will be composite.

Actually this is a half-measure by airbus...they would have preferred a one-piece fuselage barrel, but did not have access to the giant autoclaves needed to cure such parts.

The original 350 design was just a warmed over A330 (ie aluminum) but customers balked at that so airbus had to add some better features to the 350XB. Since they blew all of their R&D budget on the great white 380, they could not afford to clean-slate the 350.
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