News

First Flight of the A400M... SABCA and SABCA Limburg are on Board

Dec 2009

The new high-capacity military transport aircraft A400M flew today for the first time from the Sevilla (Spain) airport where it has been assembled.

This first flight marks a long awaited milestone in a program that will positively impact both SABCA and its subsidiary SABCA Limburg.

As a full partner of Airbus in the development and production of the aircraft, SABCA has been working since even before the program launch on the specifications, trade-offs, design, stress calculations, early production and testing of the Flap Support Structures of the A400M. These structures are major compact elements that attach the flaps to the rear part of the wing and allow their proper deployment during the most critical stages of the flight – take-off and landing of course as for any aircraft, but also enabling a typical military requirement for slow flight during the dropping of parachutists or heavy loads.

Indeed, both Belgian companies are deeply involved in the A400M program, not only as industrial partners, but also as shareholders (through the FLABEL consortium) of Airbus Military SL, the organization responsible for the management and commercialization of the aircraft.

On the other side, SABCA Limburg is responsible for the production of the upper and lower skins of the inboard and outboard flaps. These five to six meter long skins are made of CFRP composite and integrate the stiffeners in a way that minimizes the weight. For this production, SABCA Limburg takes full advantage of its advanced equipment like its Automatic Tape Layers, Solarium and a large autoclave.

The flight test period that begins today will open the door to the acceleration of the series production that should reach a maximum of 3 aircraft a month in the next years.

SABCA is a leading Belgian Aerospace company since 89 years, employing 1000 highly trained persons. SABCA is active in civil aircraft design and manufacture (Airbus, Dassault), military aircraft overhaul and upgrades (F16, F5, Mirage, helicopters, etc…) as well as in space programs (Ariane and Vega). These activities cover structural work as well as Thrust Vectoring Control systems and systems integration. SABCA has plants in Brussels and Charleroi, and a fully owned subsidiary SABCA LIMBURG specialized in aerospace composites.

For more information, write to:
Marketing & Sales Director SABCA
Fax +32 2 729 5896 or sales@sabca.be