Airbus has completed the longest development flight ever performed by its A350-1000ULR aircraft, flying non-stop between Toulouse, France, and Melbourne, Australia, before returning to France as part of testing for Qantas' future ultra-long-haul "Project Sunrise" services, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The first A350-1000ULR flight test aircraft, MSN707, departed Toulouse on July 23 and returned on July 28 after completing the two-leg mission. The return journey covered 12,460 nautical miles in 24 hours and 24 minutes, making it the aircraft's longest flight to date.
The flights were conducted as development tests rather than certification flights. Airbus said the primary objective was to demonstrate the aircraft's ability to complete a 23-hour block time, covering the period from departure to arrival, with additional time for taxiing, holding and possible diversions.
This is intended to support Qantas' planned flights of up to 21 hours and 40 minutes under its Project Sunrise program. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, the aircraft was also used to validate cabin comfort and fuel management systems during ultra-long-range operations.
Engineers focused particularly on the additional rear center fuel tank, which holds 20,900 liters of fuel and enables the aircraft to fly nearly 10,000 nautical miles. Airbus Test Pilot Xavier Pepin, who captained the return flight, said the first leg was used to stabilize cabin temperature settings for accurate air conditioning measurements, while the second leg completed remaining test points.
The outward flight was operated by four Airbus test pilots, two test-flight engineers in the cockpit and three flight-test engineers in the cabin. On the return journey, two Qantas pilots joined the crew to gain their first experience flying the A350-1000ULR, alongside three Airbus test pilots and the engineering teams.
The return route took the aircraft from Melbourne across the Pacific toward Los Angeles, over the United States and Canada, then across the North Atlantic south of Greenland, before crossing the United Kingdom and returning to southern France. Airbus said the northern Atlantic routing was selected to avoid potential air traffic control issues related to published airline tracks.
To manage fatigue during the ultra-long missions, pilots worked four-hour duty periods with crew rotations every two hours, ensuring continuous overlap for handovers. Airbus also maintained at least one Airbus test pilot at the controls whenever a Qantas pilot was flying, as the manufacturer retained operational responsibility for the mission.
Earlier, Head of Airbus in Kazakhstan Roman Blachshishin gave an exclusive interview to Qazinform News Agency, speaking about the current fleet, key areas of cooperation and future development plans.