Airbus has completed the Ground Vibration Test campaign for the A350F freighter as the aircraft moves closer to its first flight. The three-day test programme was carried out in Toulouse in June and marked a key step in validating the aircraft’s structural and aeroelastic models.
During the tests, the aircraft was subjected to controlled vibrations using its own flight control surfaces and external shakers attached to the wingtips, rear fuselage and engines. Accelerometers recorded the aircraft’s response, allowing engineers to identify its structural characteristics and refine the finite element models used for aeroelasticity and dynamic load calculations.
Airbus combined data from the aircraft’s Flight Test Instrumentation system with additional autonomous sensors installed specifically for the campaign. The measurements were monitored in real time, while results were processed after each test run and shared with engineering teams to adjust the test programme when required.
The company said the results were of high quality and showed strong agreement with theoretical predictions. The test campaign followed two years of preparation involving teams from final assembly, flight controls, vibration testing, flight test instrumentation, tooling, aeroelasticity, mass properties and quality.
Airbus is now completing data analysis and model tuning ahead of the A350F’s first flight. Flight vibration and flutter tests will then be conducted during the first three months of the flight test campaign, taking the aircraft up to its maximum dive speed and Mach limits before entry into service.
