Airbus Releases Updated Picture Of SIA's A359XWB

SInGAPORE_AIR · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:08 am

Original:

New:

khobar · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:16 am

Raked wingtips? Or is that just the angle and they're really blended wingtips?

flyyul · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:20 am

Looks like a 787!

Nice though

airways45 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:24 am

I'm not sure I'm with you.

The Airbus press release on 21 July announcing the order featured the new photo...

Your photo looks like an old photo that was pitched to the airline before the new A350 WXB was launched.

http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre...s/07_21_06_singapore_airlines.html

Are you suggesting that your 'old' photo was used since the A350 WXB was launched?

Airways45

Areopagus · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:26 am

Note the difference around the nose and cockpit area. It looks like a bigger plane now. And the rear fuselage has got the sudden taper of the 777 and 787, which many have criticized for looks.

mptpa · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:42 am

Looks like a B787 w/o the engine chevons. What do you want to bet that the cockpit windows will look more like A330 in 1 year? and the wingtips will look different too...

Remember the 1st version of B787 and now.....

baron95 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:05 am

It is a great looking plane, well proportioned, great looking wings. And I am not and Airbus fan.

A couple of things. 1 - The wings look mighty thin to acommodate fuel for 8500nm. 2 - The wing root filet will have to get a lot fatter.

cloudyapple · Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:44 am

Quoting Airways45 (Reply 3):
Are you suggesting that your 'old' photo was used since the A350 WXB was launched?

That was true. Singapore Airlines had a picture of the old A350 in their press release when they announced the order. It is still there (Aug 5).

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_U...any_info/press_release/NE_3406.jsp

DIA · Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:54 am

Quoting FLYYUL (Reply 2):
Looks like a 787!

I second that thought.

Interesting cockpit windows, though.

flydreamliner · Sat Aug 05, 2006 2:03 pm

Quoting FLYYUL (Reply 2):
Looks like a 787!

Are you sure that isn't a 787-10 in the picture....Boeing, quick take notes.

scbriml · Sat Aug 05, 2006 4:14 pm

Quoting Khobar (Reply 1):
Or is that just the angle and they're really blended wingtips?

They look much more like blended winglets in other Airbus renditions:

gearup · Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:03 pm

Love the nose, hope they keep it on production aircraft. It's tempting to think that one aircraft is a copy of another however I think that after so many years of research into aerodynamics and the optimisation of wings/airframes/control surfaces coupled with FBW you sorta end up with very similar shapes. It makes it difficult to indentify a new design as typically Boeing, or Airbus. BTW, I assume both the 787 and A350 will be FBW, does anyone think the designs would be radically different if they used traditional controls.

GU

shamrock350 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:06 pm

The wings look like blended winglets in this image.

Big version: Width: 193 Height: 441 File size: 38kb

A350-800 -900 -1000

Sorry it's so hard to see I scanned it in from a small section of an A350 banner.

Motorhussy · Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:14 pm

Quoting FlyDreamliner (Reply 9):
Quoting FLYYUL (Reply 2):Looks like a 787!
Are you sure that isn't a 787-10 in the picture....Boeing, quick take notes.

Yes it does, but prettier.

Regards
MH

glideslope · Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:41 pm

OMG, it's a 787!!!!!!! Big grin

airbazar · Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:09 pm

Correction: It's an European copy of a Japanese 787 Big grin

BlueSky1976 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:19 pm

Everybody who thinks it looks like 787 should take Aerodynamics 101. Believe it or not, Embraer started it and guess what? Y1 and NSR will both look alike, too (given that NSR is a clean-sheet design, not A320NG).
Besides - A350s nose is different. It doesn't taper down as low as 787s. If anything, it's closer to 777s nose than 787s as far as the shape goes. The pictures of the Farnborough model show it. Also, 787 has a nicer tail.

JAM747 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:39 pm

I think the A350 looks great, hope it stays like that. The 787 original design I think looked better than the latest 787 design. These designs reminds me of car concepts. The concepts often look better than the production model.

A388 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:44 pm

Quoting Airbazar (Reply 15):
Correction: It's an European copy of a Japanese 787

Haha, that's a good one. I also think the A350XWB looks very similar to the 787. And yes, Embraer started designing with this nose type with their ERJ-170/190 introduction.

Quoting Gearup (Reply 11):
Love the nose, hope they keep it on production aircraft. It's tempting to think that one aircraft is a copy of another however I think that after so many years of research into aerodynamics and the optimisation of wings/airframes/control surfaces coupled with FBW you sorta end up with very similar shapes. It makes it difficult to indentify a new design as typically Boeing, or Airbus.

A388

Aircellist · Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:56 pm

From those computer drawings, I get the feeling that the fuselage will be au double-elliptical shape... With, maybe, the base of the former, typical Airbus shape, with a heigtened and widened crown.

ksupilot · Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:09 pm

Quoting Jam747 (Reply 17):
The 787 original design I think looked better than the latest 787 design. These designs reminds me of car concepts. The concepts often look better than the production model.

I agree. I have two posters up in my room, one the current 787 and the other a two page ad from FI of the old 787 (back when it was still the 7E7) I really like both designs, though the old nose did make it easy to ID. I just didn't like the windows...they looked stretched out.

I guess when you are designing two aircraft in the same class they are going to look alike. The only reason the 747 and A380 differ is because well, they are different in terms of the upperdeck. But just do a google search for MD-12 (a full upperdeck, like A380) and it looks very much like the A380. I like the look of the new noses. It looks even better on small aircraft like the E-170 and E-195.

miamix707 · Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:49 pm

Booring... it does look very simlar to the 787, but with less character. The engines on these new twins look oversized compared to the plane.

billreid · Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:55 pm

Lets have a drawing contest????
I think this looks like the Boeing aircraft that didn't make it to production, the mach .98 aircraft.
Alot of bark but NIL bite.

sunrisevalley · Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:56 pm

Quoting Airways45 (Reply 3):
The Airbus press release on 21 July announcing the order

What order? The last I read was that they had a MOU.

irobertson · Sun Aug 06, 2006 12:04 am

Quoting Miamix707 (Reply 21):

Before you talk oversized re: the A350 model, go take a peek at a 777 again and refresh your memory on oversized engines vs. fuselage... Then look at a 737-200... ALL engines today are enormous.

flydreamliner · Sun Aug 06, 2006 12:25 am

Quoting MotorHussy (Reply 13):
Yes it does, but prettier.

..a matter of opinion, but to me, it kind of looks like the lovechild of a 777 and a 787.

Quoting Irobertson (Reply 24):
Then look at a 737-200... ALL engines today are enormous.

Ok, c'mon. To be fair the JT8D's on 732 are extremely long, they have the proportions of straws. A more fair comparison would be like, 763, which has engines that look pretty small next to its fuselage, or even A330.

772LR/773ER engines are as large around as a 737 fuselage.....

miamix707 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:14 am

Quoting Irobertson (Reply 24):
Before you talk oversized re: the A350 model, go take a peek at a 777 again and refresh your memory on oversized engines vs. fuselage... Then look at a 737-200... ALL engines today are enormous.

lol ok thanks but don't need to since the huge engines/smallish tail, are the main reason the 777 is not my favorite plane looks wise, although 90% of everyone in a.net think its the most beautiful thing ever. However it's still the most interesting of the big twins to look at, at least for me.

On the other hand, small yet sleek, elongated engines is one of the reasons why I think the 737-200 is stil the best looking 737. The NGs also have too tall of a tail. However if you refresh your memory and look at the above pic, on this new airbus twin the engines look enourmous. If I want to get technical, at least the 777 diverts the attention from the 'ugly' engines with its more straight edges and wings that appear more swept back.

The 787 is essentially almost as boring as this A350 but has more character and originality thanks to the curved wings and unusual nose. The only thing I see that I like on this A350 are the windows.

As if there wasn't enough boring twins already.. yey! here comes the A350

edit: typo

[Edited 2006-08-05 18:30:30]

ksupilot · Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:23 am

The wings look a bit less curvy than the 787s...then again Boeing could be doing that for artistic effect. In some of the new pictures the wings are nearly U-shaped.

BlueSky1976 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:32 am

Quoting KSUpilot (Reply 27):
The wings look a bit less curvy than the 787s...then again Boeing could be doing that for artistic effect. In some of the new pictures the wings are nearly U-shaped.

Actually, the way wings bend on 787s renderings are pretty close to the way they will bend in real life. If you'll watch a 777 take off, or A330 for that matter, you'll notice they already have a fair amount of bend. With composites being more flexible, the bend is going to increase.
For the simple comparison: try watching an 18 meter-class metal glider take off and then watch a composite one. The composite one will have far greater wing bend than the metal one due to the flexibility of the material.

lehpron · Sun Aug 06, 2006 2:07 am

I don't get these top-view pictures, some people who will be seeing these airplanes, especially airlines employees, will at most see them from the side or bottom. Literally everyone else will only see the as numbers and no different from every other airplane.

LTU932 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 2:53 am

Quoting Khobar (Reply 1):
Raked wingtips? Or is that just the angle and they're really blended wingtips?

They remind me more of the winglet-ish devices Jet Engineering has introduced for the MD-80 along with the Hushkits for Chapter 4 (Stage 4) noise compliance.

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © A J Best

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Stewart Andrew

What do you think? Don't you agree the A350XWB's wingtip devices look similar to that retrofit?

ZRH · Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:02 am

Quoting MIAMIx707 (Reply 26):
are the main reason the 777 is not my favorite plane looks wise, although 90% of everyone in a.net think its the most beautiful thing ever

I don't think 90%. Of course the 777 is an absolute excellent aircraft but looks wise it is utterly ugly. For me it looks like an plump, fat sausage. The 747 or the A 330-200 (which has amazing wings) are much more elegant.

BA787 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:07 am

Quoting FLYYUL (Reply 2):
Looks like a 787

I thought that when I saw it, that is a beautiful plane, dare I say it I prefer it to the 787 (shock horror)

Renders my name damn pointless, can I change it to BA A350

Tom

RAPCON · Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:36 am

Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

That's a mighty fine copy A!!!

LY777 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:39 am

sorry but it is a pale copy of the 787.Airbus, try to have some imagination!!!

AirRyan · Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:47 am

Best looking flight deck window for any AirBus aircraft bar-none. Will the A350XWB not use the same GEnx level of technology engines and how can it compete with the 787 if it doesn't? I'm sure Airbus would than suggest that no one paints the engines any color other than gray?

TWPHIL · Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:52 am

Must admit...Sorry Airbus....Really looks like a 787 !..
Nice looking anyway..

BladeLWS · Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:59 am

The 787's ugly brother...

khobar · Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:22 am

Quoting LTU932 (Reply 30):
What do you think? Don't you agree the A350XWB's wingtip devices look similar to that retrofit?

Indeed, very similar. Thanks.

Motorhussy · Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:37 am

They do look similar - the A350XWB and the 787 - much in the same way as cars in the early to mid nineties started evolving into the same (optimum) shapes from different production houses. Luckily for Airbus and Boeing, airlines won't be making their orders based around "Does it come in red?", but all round performance against the route structure of their respective line. The clincher of course being price and package.

I do think the A350 is prettier though - would look great in red!

Regards
MH

WingedMigrator · Sun Aug 06, 2006 7:52 am

Quoting Mptpa (Reply 5):
What do you want to bet that the cockpit windows will look more like A330 in 1 year?

Yeah! And they already got rid of the shark tail!! Big grin

474218 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:03 am

Quoting AirRyan (Reply 35):
Best looking flight deck window for any AirBus aircraft bar-none.

Quoting Mptpa (Reply 5):
What do you want to bet that the cockpit windows will look more like A330 in 1 year?

Quoting DIA (Reply 8):
Interesting cockpit windows, though.

Does anyone really think that the curved flight station windshield will make it to production?

N766UA · Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:07 am

Wow, for the first time it's difficult to distinguish between an airbus and a boeing! Best looking design from airbus by far, although does look a whole heck of alot like a 787.

ebj1248650 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 9:16 am

Quoting Mptpa (Reply 5):
Looks like a B787 w/o the engine chevons. What do you want to bet that the cockpit windows will look more like A330 in 1 year? and the wingtips will look different too...

Remember the 1st version of B787 and now.....

I'm inclined to agree the cockpit windows will need to change. They look odd as it is and I have to wonder how efficient they are so far as the crew being able to see is concerned.

BA787 · Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:12 pm

Quoting BladeLWS (Reply 37):
The 787's ugly brother...

You can call the A350 many things (copycat, mimicker) but you cannot call it ugly!

Tom

ZRH · Sun Aug 06, 2006 9:49 pm

Quoting LY777 (Reply 34):
sorry but it is a pale copy of the 787.Airbus, try to have some imagination!!!

I don't understand everybody complaining about the look of the aircrafts. Aircraft companies (Boeing, Airbus etc) do not built aircrafts to please your eyes but only for best economics. This means of course best aerodynamics. They don't care at all what the average a.netter thinks about the looks of the aircrafts.

RedChili · Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:01 pm

Quoting ZRH (Reply 45):
I don't understand everybody complaining about the look of the aircrafts. Aircraft companies (Boeing, Airbus etc) do not built aircrafts to please your eyes but only for best economics. This means of course best aerodynamics. They don't care at all what the average a.netter thinks about the looks of the aircrafts.

This is true, of course. But the average a.netter is not an aerodynamics engineer but an aviation enthusiast and a plane spotter. As a plane spotter, I'd love to see more of the A342, MD11, IL96, and 747SP. From that perspective, it's quite alarming to see that in 20 years from now, most widebodies flying will be similarly looking twins, with a few A380s and B748s in the major hubs.

It's the same with narrowbodies. Nowadays, there's a lot of A320s and B737NGs flying around, and very few other types.

mptpa · Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:12 pm

Quoting Irobertson (Reply 24):
ALL engines today are enormous.

Because of the higher-by-pas ratio of the current turbofans

miamix707 · Mon Aug 07, 2006 12:29 am

Quoting ZRH (Reply 31):
A 330-200 (which has amazing wings) are much more elegant.

Brother that comes down to taste again. The 777 is not "ugly" either and is more interesting and "muscular" than a 332. Actually I don't think any jet airliners are ugly, although the jury is still out on the A319 and A318s lol. Most here think the A332 is gorgeous. Just like the 777 it looks cool, but in half the angles the A332 is not exactly pretty either. Ugly landing gear, fugly tail (diff. than on the -300). The fuselage root glove (or whatever its called) looks ugly to me. Fuselage too short in front, and too long behind the wing, etc. The winglets make it look even more strange. The the A300 has a lot nicer proportions.

Quoting BladeLWS (Reply 37):
The 787's ugly brother...

lol that was harsh. C'mon now its not that ugly, if anything maybe the engines.

Quoting 474218 (Reply 41):
Does anyone really think that the curved flight station windshield will make it to production?

I don't think so either and now that I look at them closer, they would look weird from the side. Also like soneone said, very few will get to see the plane from such an exciting angle banking. Most will see antother boring twin from the side. This is just an image to make it look as cutting edge and cool as possible.

Quoting BA787 (Reply 44):
You can call the A350 many things (copycat, mimicker) but you cannot call it ugly!

dude when you see this plane from the side it's probably going to look at boring as any other twin. You might need to look twice to realize you're not looking at an A330.

Thanks Airbus for making a "whole new exciting plane" look like a poor copy of the 787. Next!

agill · Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:26 am

Quoting RedChili (Reply 46):
But the average a.netter is not an aerodynamics engineer but an aviation enthusiast

Sadly enough a large part seem to be cheerleaders for one specific brand of airplanes.

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