Aviation
Commercial /
Europe
Innovations for the A320
What will Airbus's supposed new high-tech wing look like?
A320neo
Divulgação/Airbus
Gabriela Ramos
6/18/2021
The last decade, when Airbus gave its A320 family of aircraft more fuel-efficient engines, saw a significant increase in demand for this aircraft, which was already its best seller. Currently, looking again for this increase in aircraft sales, the company will develop a new set of wings for the A320.
The goal is to create a composite wing that can be produced on a large scale and that is affordable, says Sue Partridge, who is leading Airbus' future wing design. The first demonstrator will start its assembly in the coming weeks.
An upgraded version of the A320 family may come with a new, lighter wing that will enable greater efficiency in single-aisle aircraft. Furthermore, if Boeing decides to develop a new aircraft after the 737 has reached its maximum development, Airbus will already have a ready answer.
Sash Tusa, an analyst at Agency Partners, says, “The most immediate application would be if they decided to make a home straight for the A320neo family. They cleaned the wing a lot, but they never did a proper overhaul of that aircraft.”
The project to upgrade the wing could be interesting for manufacturers, as the wing would represent only a fraction of the cost of an entirely new aircraft, but at the same time, it would allow for much more economical operations. Airbus has already made some changes to the aircraft, such as introducing wing tips that reduce aerodynamic swirl, but the wing structure has so far remained almost entirely unchanged.
According to Tusa, a more “radical” overhaul of the A320 could cost more than $4.9 billion, which would still be much less than what Boeing would spend to create an entirely new plane (something around $15 to $US$ 20 billion).
The new wing will feature a longer, thinner design, with folding tips to allow access to airport gates. In addition, there will also be greater automation and a simplified manufacturing technique on the wing. The changes will allow for better aerodynamic performance and greater fuel efficiency, as well as allowing for an extension of range and a repositioning of the landing gear, allowing the aircraft to adapt to more efficient engines. The wing project is expected to be completed in 2023.
After the two accidents that occurred with the Boeing 737 Max, this model was paralyzed for a period of almost two years, which gave Airbus an opportunity to consolidate its already existing advantage over Boeing in the short-haul aircraft market. Apparently, the company bets on the wing update to maintain this status.
A321neo
Divulgação/Airbus
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Gabriela Ramos
Gabriela is the latest addition to the editorial team of our website, having provided us with her solid background in editing, publishing and photography, and her interest and training in aviation history and historiography. His good taste and common sense and great cleverness and sagacity in the selection of themes and materials greatly enriched our vocabulary and narrative style. Gabriela brought unusual predicates and came to stay, helping to point the way of success of our portal.
   
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