Airbus A380 Freighter Spar Partner - January 2005

Airbus UK has selected Assystem as the preferred supplier for the engineering definitions for the A380 Freighter Mid and Outer Trailing Edge Spars. This selection is as a direct result of the recent announcement of Assystem as one of five strategic Airbus UK Suppliers.

As part of this selection process, Assystem are now responsible for providing engineering support during the preceding B Scheme phase, whilst at the same time defining the scope of work for the C Scheme and DFM phases.

The freighter variant has a higher all up weight compared to the passenger variant, and as a result the loads into the structure have changed (as well as other changed requirements). The programme to define and manufacture the components is challenging, and the first set of completed spars is required on the wing assembly line by October 2005.

The mid and outer rear spars on the A380 are 18.7m and 14.8m long respectively, with a combined mass of around half a tonne per side (note the size of the people & vehicles in the photograph!).

Assystem has a team working on the B Scheme support split between the Isle of Man and Bristol offices, led by the Project Manager, Andrew Gray, in Bristol, and the Lead Engineer, Brian Maddrell, in the Isle of Man. This project is one of the first to be run after Assystem has been selected as a strategic supplier of engineering services to Airbus UK, and therefore represents an important step forward in the relationship with one of our most important clients. Assystem will be required to demonstrate a complete approach to project management of an off-site work package, as well as delivering a high quality technical solution to time and to budget, and achieve this within a multi-site environment. We will be drawing on important lessons learnt from previous projects, from both in-house and on-site experiences, and work closely with Airbus UK to build a firm foundation for future projects.