Airliners.net

As the title suggests is there any visible differences between the A330 & the A350? i.e. if it flew over head would it be easily identfiable, from the pictures of the 350 it doesnt look like there is.

Will hold up on my answer until there is A350 to look at.

Quoting Bobnwa (Reply 1): Will hold up on my answer until there is A350 to look at.

Right! One could say the 350 is invisible to the naked eye.

You're looking at the old pictures. The A350XBW doesn't look like the A330 at all.

It's probably going to be somewhat like the 767 to 777. While a "trained eye" can easily discern the differences, things like the extra doors, the different tailcones and the larger rear bogies helped me identify the two when the 777 first entered service.

The A350's biggest visual difference (when flying overhead) should be the wingtips.

Right now the 350 XWWBBWBWXX??? is a stealth aircraft! No one knows for sure what it will look like or if it will even come into existence.

Wait and see.

The original A350 looked just like the A330 because that's what it was - an updated A330. Over time the design evolved to have a mildly different nose with a 4 pane flight deck window configuration rather than 6 (just like the B787!) and some other recontouring to provide room for a crew rest area.

The really all new this time A350XWB is less defined, but a few more changes are apparently in store (aside from the wider than the B787 fuselage but narrower than the B777 fuselage thing). The wings will feature upturned maybe raked wingtip (similar to the B787, but with a more pronounced upturn at the end). The cabin windows will be larger (just like the B787). The tail end of the fuselage appears to adopt a different design whereby the top side angles down to the end rather than the remaining flat (similar to the B767 and once again, just like the B787). And the new flight design window design seems vague, but suggests that the outer windows will drop down for some reason (probably so that the XWB won't look exactly like a B787 clone).

However, the current XWB illustrations may have been designed by the sales & marketing folks rather than the engineering folks (just like the B7E7 Dreamliner concept) - so the end result, if it ever happens, may be quite different.

The A350XWB as it is now, looks like a larger 787 with a slightly different nose shape and a tail that looks just like your average Airbus tail but slopes downwards. What I like about the XWB is it's wings, they look like a type of blended winglet that rake backwards and upwards even on the ground unlike the 787 which only has raked wingtips that flex in the air and on take-off.

Quoting Stitch (Reply 4): It's probably going to be somewhat like the 767 to 777. While a "trained eye" can easily discern the differences, things like the extra doors, the different tailcones and the larger rear bogies helped me identify the two when the 777 first entered service.

And don't forget the engines...

But coming back to the A350/330/B787 discussion tho, yes, when first launched, the A350 did look like the A330, reasons already stated. I do have to say that the latest developments regarding the A350XWB do have this thing looking like a different aircraft. It now looks more or less like a 787, but probably a hair more advanced than the Boeing competitor.

Quoting Shamrock350 (Reply 7): What I like about the XWB is it's wings, they look like a type of blended winglet that rake backwards and upwards even on the ground unlike the 787 which only has raked wingtips that flex in the air and on take-off.

So what you are saying here is that the wing tip on the 787 is flat until airborn, while that of the A350 will be an actual blended wing tip? I sure hope that US will get this bird in time, but they seem rather content despite these delays... Still, the A350 looks like a pretty neat development and I hope it gets off the ground...

Quoting Steeler83 (Reply 8): So what you are saying here is that the wing tip on the 787 is flat until airborn, while that of the A350 will be an actual blended wing tip?

While I was at the Farnborough Airshow, Boeing had a video of the 787 taking off, in-flight and landing. The wing looked just like a 777-300ER until it lifted into the air and it started to flex like nothing I have ever seen. The A350 also had a short video on its Farnborough site that showed it joining the rest of the Airbus fleet and it's wing curved up at the end just like a blended winglet. How long will this image last, I'm not sure.

Quoting Killjoy (Reply 3): You're looking at the old pictures.

You're right I was, I was at Farnborough this year and dont know how I forgot the changes. It looks more like a 787 now 

Suppose we wont really know until it actually exists.