Assembled in France using millions of components made throughout Europe: The A350 is the most modern commercial aircraft in the world.
The Airbus A 350: the most modern commercial aircraft in the world. It takes 1800 highly-skilled specialists in Toulouse, France, and 2.5 million individual parts, delivered from all over the world, to assemble this masterpiece of aeronautic engineering. The goal: An aircraft with minimal consumption and maximum range. 53 percent of the Aircraft consist of a modern ultra-light composite material. But the innovative material also requires entirely new manufacturing processes. A challenge for the aircraft manufacturers in Toulouse. And the final assembly is preceded by a logistical masterpiece: The individual parts of the aircraft travel from various Airbus plants in Europe to Toulouse: the front and centre sections from Saint-Nazaire in France, the tail section from Hamburg, the wings from Broughton in Wales and Bremen, and the tail fin from Getafe in Spain. The factory in Toulouse is supplied with these parts by a specially developed transport aircraft, the Beluga. Several times a day, five of these machines commute between the various plants and bring supplies for production seven days a week from early in the morning until midnight. And the journey of the components is not over in Toulouse. By the time the A350 is fully assembled it will have passed through seven hangars or "stations." Given the extremely high number of components that have to be assembled and the large number of different suppliers, there are a lot of risk factors involved in the production of the A350. And the pressure is high: The modern aircraft is extremely popular with airlines, with 890 pending orders to date. Ten aircraft of the A350 have to leave the factory every month no matter what.
The Airbus A 350: the most modern commercial aircraft in the world. It takes 1800 highly-skilled specialists in Toulouse, France, and 2.5 million individual parts, delivered from all over the world, to assemble this masterpiece of aeronautic engineering. The goal: An aircraft with minimal consumption and maximum range. 53 percent of the Aircraft consist of a modern ultra-light composite material. But the innovative material also requires entirely new manufacturing processes. A challenge for the aircraft manufacturers in Toulouse. And the final assembly is preceded by a logistical masterpiece: The individual parts of the aircraft travel from various Airbus plants in Europe to Toulouse: the front and centre sections from Saint-Nazaire in France, the tail section from Hamburg, the wings from Broughton in Wales and Bremen, and the tail fin from Getafe in Spain. The factory in Toulouse is supplied with these parts by a specially developed transport aircraft, the Beluga. Several times a day, five of these machines commute between the various plants and bring supplies for production seven days a week from early in the morning until midnight. And the journey of the components is not over in Toulouse. By the time the A350 is fully assembled it will have passed through seven hangars or "stations." Given the extremely high number of components that have to be assembled and the large number of different suppliers, there are a lot of risk factors involved in the production of the A350. And the pressure is high: The modern aircraft is extremely popular with airlines, with 890 pending orders to date. Ten aircraft of the A350 have to leave the factory every month no matter what.
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TVTranscript
00:00The Airbus A350, the most advanced commercial aircraft in the world.
00:14Its construction, nothing short of a masterpiece, on the grand scale and down to the smallest
00:21detail.
00:22Two and a half million components, 1,800 professionals for the final assembly alone.
00:30Together, constructing an aircraft the likes of which the world has never seen before.
00:36The goal, minimal fuel consumption, maximum range, the product of precision workmanship,
00:42expertise and quite simply, pride.
00:46And all this is only possible thanks to perfect, mega manufacturing.
01:08Toulouse, France, the headquarters of Europe's largest aircraft manufacturer.
01:14In Blagnac, Airbus workers construct the most advanced passenger aircraft in the world,
01:20the Airbus A350.
01:23One o'clock in the afternoon, one of the fleet of Beluga transport aircraft arrives
01:28with a delivery of components, so called because its shape resembles that of the white whale.
01:35It is key to the construction process.
01:38A 1,500 cubic meter cargo compartment and a 47 metric ton payload, an entire fuselage
01:45section of the A350 fits in the belly of a single Beluga.
01:51Or as in this case, one of its wings.
01:55Measuring 32 meters in length, it would be practically impossible to build the A350 without
02:01the Beluga fleet.
02:03Baptiste Dronet must see to it that his team unloads all the freight within an hour.
02:09Every delay triggers a chain reaction, disrupting construction of the world's most advanced
02:15passenger aircraft.
02:17Unloading the unique Beluga super transporters is Baptiste's dream job.
02:29I'm very proud of our Beluga fleet.
02:32They're key to the entire assembly operation running smoothly.
02:37I've loved planes since childhood.
02:39My father and my grandfather worked at Airbus.
02:41Our family has always been fascinated with aviation.
02:48The Beluga fleet flies wings, fuselage sections, cabin furnishing and vertical tail planes
02:55for the A350 from around Europe to these assembly hangars in Toulouse.
03:014,500 suppliers and 12 Airbus facilities are involved in its production.
03:07The background behind this complex puzzle?
03:11Airbus was established in the 1960s as a consortium of companies from across the European continent.
03:19Different locations have different areas of expertise to this day.
03:30Of particular importance to the production of the A350 are the sites in France, Spain,
03:36Germany and Great Britain.
03:39The nose and midsection come from the Saint-Nazaire plant, the tail section from Hamburg.
03:45The wings are manufactured in Bratton and Bremen, the horizontal tail plane in Getafe.
03:52All of these shipments must be perfectly coordinated.
03:55Head of the unit, Nabil Tahiri.
04:01It's our job to ensure that all the parts are transported on time.
04:07We have to always make sure that all of the components are on hand here.
04:14Thanks to our fleet of transport aircraft, we can get anything that's missing here straight
04:18away.
04:21We need around three hours to pick up a part from anywhere inside Europe.
04:25The Beluga provides us with an extremely quick and safe way of getting all the parts
04:28we need in a timely manner.
04:32Our system is absolutely reliable.
04:38Even when everything is running smoothly, the A350 still has to go through seven stations.
04:43With 120 aircraft a year, this demands absolute perfection.
04:49Everything begins in station 59.
04:53The first stage of the final assembly line.
04:56Around 40 workers fit out the fuselage with the large components of the passenger cabin,
05:02such as the galley and washrooms.
05:05Nine such fuselage segments can be worked on in parallel here.
05:13Responsible for this work is François-Louis Godin.
05:16He oversees each machine for 80 days, from the first assembly step to completion.
05:24This is where assembly begins.
05:27The sections of the A350's fuselage arrive here from all over Europe.
05:34We work on outfitting the passenger cabin from the very first station to the last station.
05:41What makes this assembly line unique is that we fit out the passenger cabin and assemble
05:46the aircraft in parallel.
05:50This change to the workflow allows us to minimize production time.
05:58Six-thirty in the morning.
06:00Team briefing at the start of the shift.
06:03Fifteen workers, mostly electricians and installation technicians, divide up the day's tasks amongst
06:09themselves.
06:10They have to install the galleys, washrooms and crew rest compartments.
06:15Many special requests from the airlines are incorporated here too.
06:21The outfitting work is performed on all fuselage sections in shifts.
06:26This way, no team has to wait for another.
06:29In the tail section of a future A350, two workers make preparations for the installation
06:34of the galley.
06:36Assembly instructions, individually packed screws, it all resembles a bit like a flat
06:40pack wardrobe from a furniture store.
06:45It's not as simple as it looks.
06:47It's very different to screwing together an IKEA bookshelf.
06:50That would be great, but it isn't like that, unfortunately.
06:53It takes highly trained craftsmen.
06:55Even the smallest of installations can affect the safety of the finished aircraft.
07:00As such, special expertise is required for every single operation.
07:04It takes months and often years to train our workers.
07:09In contrast with a cupboard from a furniture store, it's critical that nothing can shift,
07:15even during the most severe turbulence.
07:18No screw may fail, a big responsibility for the workers.
07:30Just as it is for the quality inspectors in the adjacent fuselage section, they have to
07:36first approve the delivered fuselages for outfitting, but only if every bulkhead, every
07:41electrical component, and even the floor is free of defects.
07:46The supplier has already ultrasonically inspected it for damage on departure, but a lot could
07:52have happened during transport, and nothing can be left to chance.
07:58The next fuselage has already been released.
08:02Craftsmen seal the floor where the lavatory will later be installed.
08:06The film prevents moisture from penetrating the floor.
08:10Like everywhere in the aircraft, there are electrical cables there too, and there are
08:15more of them in the high-tech A350 than in most other commercial aircraft.
08:22There are instructions for every task.
08:25Each worker must double-check that the work has been performed to the exacting standard.
08:31In the first hangar, the teams install components that would no longer fit through the doors
08:36once the fuselage is assembled.
08:38A resting cabin for the pilots arrives.
08:41The Airbus crew installs it behind the cockpit and above the galley.
08:47The A350 is a long-haul airliner.
08:50It can fly non-stop for up to 20 hours.
08:54There are several pilots on board for such flights who take it in turns to rest.
09:04Work on the fuselage sections continues without a break.
09:08They are, after all, expected to fly away soon.
09:12Next up is Station 50 of the final assembly line.
09:17The fuselage sections are now ready for their big moment, the so-called marriage.
09:23Waiting at Station 50 are Deputy Unit Head Arnaud Herry and Team Manager Wilfried Martin.
09:31They have the nose section for an A350 maneuvered into the hangar.
09:39Arnaud has worked at Airbus for 16 years and on the A350 final assembly line for 6 of these.
09:46The aircraft is very popular.
09:50Over 250 of them have been delivered to date.
09:54And there are orders for a further 890 on the books.
09:59With this number of outstanding orders, every stage of production is subject to an extremely
10:04strict timetable.
10:18Because of the number of parts that have to be assembled to build an aircraft and the
10:22large number of subcontractors, partners and factories that supply them to us, there are
10:28a whole host of risk factors.
10:30We often have to set priorities in order to ensure that the aircraft arrives at the next
10:35station on time.
10:37We sometimes allow work that has not yet been finished to be completed at the next station.
10:43Our overriding priority is to avoid at all costs the next station being prevented from
10:48continuing with the assembly work.
10:56Once the nose section is in place, the transport operator maneuvers the middle section into
11:02the hangar.
11:04Both sections are already equipped with lines for the hydraulic, water, oxygen and air conditioning
11:10systems.
11:11They are already insulated and wiring harnesses are installed under the ceiling.
11:20The tail section waits in front of the hangar.
11:23In the case of the A350-1000, the three fuselage sections together measure 73.8 meters in length,
11:31seven meters more than the shorter version.
11:36The operators align the fuselage sections with a tenth of a millimeter precision before
11:41they join them together with around 40,000 fasteners.
11:55As with the rest of the construction, most of this work is performed by hand.
12:00Over 10,000 rivets hold the carbon fiber fuselage sections together.
12:05No other aircraft uses such a high proportion of carbon fiber as the A350.
12:12Because the material is extremely hard, the workers have to use especially high-quality
12:17drilling equipment.
12:22Fifty-three percent of the A350 is composed of carbon composite.
12:27It's 40 percent lighter than aluminum and allows much more complex shapes.
12:32Each layer consists of super-thin plies of carbon fiber embedded in a synthetic resin
12:38matrix.
12:39And there are several layers, a process that takes a few days.
12:47In the aviation industry, composites are viewed as the materials of the future and are increasingly
12:53replacing aircraft aluminum.
12:59The aircraft is fitted with its iconic nose gear at this station, all in parallel with
13:04the myriad other processes taking place.
13:08This component alone is constructed from around 1,000 parts, primarily made from high-tensile
13:13steel.
13:17It too is installed by hand.
13:19Every connection is bonded and bolted for safety.
13:32Following installation, the workers check the functionality of the landing gear.
13:47It's activated by remote control instead of the pilot pressing a button.
13:53The nose wheel must deploy at the same speed it would during approach.
14:07The nose gear is now operational.
14:10The A350 fuselage must again switch hangars to be fitted with its main landing gear.
14:20The workers hydraulically lower the 32-ton fuselage to rest on its support wheels.
14:32A big moment.
14:34The fuselage of the wide-body jet will soon leave the hangar in one piece.
14:45Despite the routine, you're always learning something new, whether at a personal, technical
14:50or organizational level.
14:52You start each day in good spirits, happy to be building these amazing cutting-edge
14:56products.
14:58It requires total dedication at all times from everyone.
15:11The massive fuselage rests on its wheels for the first time.
15:16And everyone holds their breath.
15:33The operator of the aircraft tractor grabs the nose wheel to carefully push it out of
15:37the hangar, just like maneuvering around the airport.
15:58After being joined up at Station 50, the Cigar, as it's affectionately known, continues on
16:05its journey.
16:06A Cigar is what an assembled fuselage without wings is called in aviation jargon.
16:12These will be fitted at the next station.
16:30The next hangar, known as Station 40, can accommodate four Cigars at the same time.
16:36They'll be almost complete aircraft when they leave.
16:41The aircraft will be 90% finished when it leaves this station.
16:46Wings, main landing gear, tail assembly.
16:49The specialists here attach everything visibly missing from the outside of the aircraft.
16:55To maintain efficiency, several teams work in parallel at this station too.
17:01A crane lifts the wing into position that will later support the aircraft in flight.
17:07The 32-meter long and 6-meter wide wings are the largest aircraft components ever to be
17:12fabricated from carbon fiber composite material.
17:22The wings of the A350 are something very special.
17:26Their development was painstaking and contained over 4,000 hours of wind tunnel testing.
17:32Positioning them is an incredible feat too.
17:39Several thousand rivets will now keep the wings attached to the fuselage at speeds of
17:44up to 960 kilometers per hour.
17:54Flap design is optimized to reduce vortex generation, resulting in better lift efficiency
18:01and improved low-speed performance, while reducing aerodynamic-generated noise from
18:06the wing.
18:07A special droop nose is integrated into the inboard wing leading edge.
18:12It helps the aircraft remain flyable even at low airspeeds.
18:16This facilitates takeoff and landing.
18:23Like the wing, the horizontal tailplane of the A350 is made from carbon too.
18:29It has a span of 19 meters and was manufactured in Getafe, Spain.
18:35As with the fuselage segments and the wings, all of the electrical and hydraulic systems
18:40have already been installed.
18:48The vertical tailplane comes from Stade in Germany.
18:52It's the only component that is painted prior to installation due to its eventual height.
18:58The main landing gear of the A350-1000 consists of two six-wheel bogies.
19:04During landing, it has to support a weight of up to 233 metric tons.
19:13Following installation, Florent Cuberot and his colleagues connect the hydraulic lines
19:18that control the landing gear.
19:21A combination of adhesive and bolts is used here as well.
19:24Florent hasn't always worked on landing gear.
19:28He used to be a bricklayer before he applied for a job at Airbus.
19:34I come from Toulouse.
19:37Airbus is the biggest employer here and they started this new program with the A350.
19:45They were recruiting workers, so I decided to try my luck at Airbus.
19:52After the interviews, I was given training and passed the exams.
19:57Then I was assigned here to Station 40.
20:04Airbus is not only the biggest employer in Toulouse.
20:08Aircraft construction is pretty much a part of the regional identity here.
20:19The scale of the facility is truly impressive.
20:2323,000 people work for Airbus in the hangars and offices surrounding Toulouse Blagnac Airport.
20:30They work five days a week in two shifts.
20:36Lunchtime is staggered.
20:38The early shift workers go to lunch first, then the office staff.
20:49The cooks, working in the 15 restaurants around the factory site, prepare 2.6 million
20:55meals each year, handling 13.5 tons of steak and 10.5 tons of salad in the process.
21:10There are 20 company bus routes operating on the Airbus site.
21:15They transport 800,000 passengers each year.
21:23Anyone traveling to work with their own car can expect to be subject to strict controls.
21:30The Site Traffic Monitoring Service takes adherence to vehicle controls very seriously.
21:38No one is allowed to drive faster than 30 kilometers per hour.
21:45A white Renault, 43 kilometers per hour.
21:49Okay, understood.
21:50I'll intercept it.
21:53Those violating the traffic regulations risk losing permission to enter the site.
22:00Hello sir, I'm from site security.
22:02Can you switch your engine off and show me your ID and parking permit, please?
22:08Another citation means suspension of the parking permit.
22:13You can use this to pick up your parking permit in eight days' time.
22:18You have to go to gate B to get it back.
22:22Have a good day, sir.
22:26Those who persistently violate the rules lose their permit permanently.
22:33Back at Station 40.
22:36Work continues after lunch.
22:39While wings, landing gear and tail assembly are being mounted to the outside, specialists
22:44are inside the plane, outfitting the cabin.
22:51Installing the cabin interior in parallel to assembling the aircraft is new.
22:56This change alone has reduced construction time by a third.
23:01François Louis, head of cabin installation, makes sure that there are no delays with
23:06the installation.
23:16We previously saw the start of assembly, when the large components are installed.
23:23Everything that wouldn't fit through the cabin door later, once the fuselage is joined together.
23:31Here we are installing the so-called floor-to-floor.
23:34The wall lining, overhead compartments and also the safety components, like the signals
23:38for cabin crew and passengers, and the overhead units that contain the oxygen masks.
23:50The cabin functions are regulated by a central control unit.
23:53In the A350, it ensures 20% higher air humidity and higher cabin pressure than has been usual
24:01until now, making it feel a lot closer to normal life on Earth.
24:07While the interior is being installed, a worker is in the cargo hold with a rag and brush,
24:13Cedric Cabarros.
24:18I have to clean this area here, before I fix the insulating material in place.
24:26Whatever is underneath it will no longer be visible or accessible.
24:32Any residues like a metal swarf or other dirt that could be hidden behind it must be removed.
24:41Only when we're absolutely sure that this area is pristine can we lower the lining and
24:46fix in place the insulation between the exterior and interior of the aircraft.
25:02There are some traces here, for example.
25:04I use a cleaning cloth with a special solvent for this.
25:10There's something here too.
25:19Now I'm sure everything is clean and I can close up the insulation.
25:27The big moment for the entire team at Station 40 arrives.
25:32Their aircraft will rest entirely on its own wheels for the first time.
25:40Everything must be perfectly clean.
25:42No work residues, no drop of oil is allowed to contaminate the brand new aircraft or its
25:49tires.
25:53The workers activate the hydraulic system.
25:57They lower their over 100 ton creation.
26:12It's an emotional moment for everyone, including for Arnaud.
26:19You could say it's like the end of a pregnancy, a kind of birth.
26:23But there's a birth at a station every eight to nine days.
26:27Over time, that's an awful lot of babies.
26:30There's a part of us in every plane.
26:32We all put a lot of energy and dedication into our work.
26:36It makes us very happy to have done our bit.
26:48Arnaud's colleagues check the tire pressure under the load of the aircraft's weight.
27:08The aircraft is about 90% finished.
27:12It's time to bid farewell to Station 40.
27:24The doors open for the station's latest offspring to enter the world.
27:37Building aircraft is a real pleasure and is something I'm proud of.
27:41This is matched by the great sense of responsibility we feel when later our families, our children
27:46or friends climb aboard.
27:48So we're committed to doing a perfect job every day, never overlooking anything and
27:52building aircraft of the highest quality.
27:55And it's true, you can't help being filled with a certain pride each time you see one
27:59of these huge machines flying away.
28:05Everything is ready for the big moment.
28:34The openings in the machine are covered to protect against rain before the aircraft is
28:38moved to the next hangar.
28:48This new A350 will soon be flying for China's Southern Airlines.
28:54Millions of people will be putting their lives and their trust in the work performed by Arnaud
29:00Airy and his team.
29:052.5 million individual parts are installed in an A350 when finished.
29:14And they all have to be present, of course.
29:17Not even one part can be missing.
29:26Airbus gathers together the parts for its aircraft at two logistics centers.
29:30Stored on an area totaling 84,000 square meters, the equivalent of nearly 12 football fields,
29:37are aircraft parts and everything needed for the cabin interior, galley, overhead compartments,
29:43toilets and seats.
29:53Fifty different airlines have ordered the A350.
29:56This means 50 different interiors for business, economy and first class.
30:04The logistics specialists supply the components to the assembly hangars as and when needed.
30:11This just-in-time process requires precision in supply and demand.
30:17David Gaillard is the head of the Airlog Center.
30:21He must be aware of what parts are needed at all times.
30:25If just a single curtain is missing, the aircraft cannot be delivered and the entire production
30:30line grinds to a halt.
30:33Bearing in mind the number of outstanding orders for the A350, a disaster, David tries
30:39to avoid delivery bottlenecks and delays by way of stock keeping.
30:46Airbus' strategy involves looking to see where the greatest expertise in a particular discipline
30:51is located.
30:53This is why we work with many factories in Europe and indeed throughout the world too,
30:57if you include all of our subcontractors.
31:00The logistics are highly complex and that's precisely the challenge our department faces.
31:05We coordinate everything and take delivery of parts from all over the world that arrive
31:09by plane, train, ship and of course by road too.
31:13We're talking about 40,000 deliveries a week.
31:20Every single delivered item is checked and logged by David's staff.
31:25If any part turns out to be damaged, his team immediately organizes its replacement or repair.
31:42Components for the A350 arrive on a near daily basis by plane too.
31:47Seven days a week, from early in the morning until midnight.
31:52And then there are the machines waiting to be delivered.
32:03Airbus has its own tower in order to coordinate all these flights for the factory in Toulouse.
32:11The air traffic controllers don't just monitor the air traffic.
32:16Alexandre Clavier has an overview of the entire factory site on his monitors.
32:22He also coordinates the movement of aircraft between the hangars.
32:27Every machine to be maneuvered from one station to the next needs his approval and clearance.
32:34Alexandre and his colleagues have to coordinate 50 aircraft movements each day.
32:39And that doesn't even account for the rest of the side traffic.
32:43Fox, Whiskey, Whiskey, Bravo, Charlie.
32:46OK, cleared for take-off after the fire truck.
32:50Roger, we're pushing back. Cleared for take-off. Bravo, Charlie.
32:55Airbus shares the runway with the public airport at Toulouse-Blagnac.
33:03Alexandre's team also coordinates the cargo flights with the tower there.
33:08A Beluga XL, the prototype for an even larger transport aircraft, has just landed.
33:24The existing Beluga fleet alone clocks up over 10,000 flight hours each year.
33:31We coordinate two types of flights.
33:34Those of the development department and those of production.
33:38The ones for the development department are prototypes.
33:41The flights for production are aircraft destined for customers,
33:45for example that are being delivered to airlines.
33:48Two air traffic controllers are always on duty at the same time.
33:52The air traffic control officer responsible for the frequency controls the air traffic in real time.
33:59And we also have a coordination officer who is in permanent contact with the tower in Blagnac
34:05and the flight test center in order to get take-off clearance for the pilots.
34:09He organizes the take-offs.
34:15The Airbus A350 reaches station 30.
34:19The lower the number, the closer the aircraft is to completion.
34:24François, head of cabin installation, checks the fittings of the business class seats.
34:29Quality control has done its job and identified minor defects.
34:36The inspectors have discovered problems with the movement of the seat backs.
34:40An expensive business class seat is expected to function flawlessly.
34:45High travel comfort is an important component of modern air transport
34:50for Airbus, the airlines and for the increasingly discerning passenger.
34:55Airbus promises A350 passengers higher levels of comfort in all classes.
35:01Seats, lighting, cabin pressure and cabin noise levels have been significantly improved.
35:07The noise level, for example, is 40.
35:10At this station, we install all the seats from economy to business class.
35:18Colleagues from the quality control department check whether the seats have been installed properly.
35:23If necessary, defects are rectified by the seat inspectors.
35:27They check the quality of the seats.
35:30They check the quality of the seats.
35:33They check the quality of the seats.
35:36While the remedial work is going on, another team installs the seats in economy class.
35:47The fuselage of the A350 is being installed.
35:51The A350 is being installed.
35:54The A350 is being installed.
35:57The A350 is being installed.
36:00The A350 is being installed.
36:04The fuselage of the A350 has an especially large diameter, hence the suffix XWB,
36:11which stands for extra wide body.
36:14In its standard configuration, the A350-1000 can accommodate 366 passengers.
36:20But it's also possible to fit 10 seats per row.
36:23This would allow the aircraft to carry as many as 440 passengers.
36:29Claire Sescon is the deputy head of Station 30.
36:33She supervises and coordinates 30 electricians and mechanics,
36:38who perform the preliminary function tests and take care of small repairs at the same time.
36:53In contrast with every other assembly line at Airbus,
36:56the mechanical and electrical systems of the A350 are worked on in parallel.
37:04It is a great responsibility to take care of the safety of the employees and of the aircraft,
37:10especially here at Station 30, where different departments work simultaneously.
37:16Quality control, production and testing.
37:21The key to our successful work lies in the harmonious cooperation required
37:26to build the aircraft on time, to the highest quality and to everyone's safety.
37:37There are specialists for every task, however minor.
37:46Will this be ready soon?
37:50Yes, the specialists will drill the holes shortly and then we can carry on.
37:56Perfect. Super.
38:05I grew up in Toulouse, so I always saw planes and watched the maiden flights.
38:14The residents of Toulouse have always been surrounded by aviation.
38:20For me, working here was a dream from an early age.
38:28Today, Claire supervises how workers here at Station 30 add the finishing touches to the A350.
38:35The workers, for example, close the last gap between the fuselage and the wing at the sight of the aircraft.
38:51In the cargo hold, electrician Cédric Lomond is testing the cabling.
38:58180 km of cable are installed in every A350.
39:03Keeping track of everything here is a complex undertaking.
39:09180 km of cable are installed in every A350.
39:14Keeping track of everything here is a complex undertaking.
39:20In position now.
39:24OK, I'm ready.
39:32OK.
39:39Connected to ground.
39:41The electricians test every single cable in the aircraft.
39:44All the systems are still accessible. For now.
39:50We're testing the cables.
39:52This involves increasing the voltage in order to find out if the resistance is high enough.
39:57These are the cables that control the engines.
40:02After the test, Cédric's colleague seals off all the connectors again.
40:07No dirt can be allowed to get into this sophisticated control system.
40:17All of the cables that the pilots use to control the aircraft's functions converge in front of the cargo hold below the cockpit.
40:28Safety-related systems are installed in duplicate for redundancy.
40:33The specialists inspect every single cable connection here too, irrespective of how difficult they are to get to.
40:40They're always conscious of their responsibility.
40:49Any mistake that electrician Nicolas Vénière makes now could have fatal consequences.
40:58This is where the electronic control systems are located.
41:02The heart of the aircraft, as it were.
41:07When doing my job, I often think about all the passengers who'll board this aircraft someday
41:12and set off on their travels with complete confidence.
41:17Once all the function tests have been completed, the aircraft moves on to the penultimate station.
41:23Station 20, where its engines will be fitted.
41:28The A350 is powered by two state-of-the-art turbofan engines,
41:33developed exclusively for this aircraft by Rolls-Royce.
41:38The A350 is powered by two state-of-the-art turbofan engines,
41:42developed exclusively for this aircraft by Rolls-Royce.
41:48It's the most fuel-efficient commercial aircraft engine in the world, the Trent XWB.
41:58The engine specialists hydraulically raise the massive turbine up to its mounting points below the wing.
42:08They bolt the 8-ton, 50,000-horsepower engine to the aircraft wing using just two mounting brackets.
42:26The massive turbine consists of more than 20,000 components, most of them fitted together by hand.
42:38C'est bon. C'est bon.
42:47Once the turbine is secure on the pylon, the hydraulic transport vehicle is lowered back down.
42:57A single turbine costs almost 32 million euros, so great care must be taken when maneuvering.
43:07C'est bon. C'est bon.
43:21Each of the two engines generates 374.5 kilonewtons of thrust.
43:28Each turbine consists of 22 titanium blades and has a diameter of nearly three meters.
43:35During takeoff, the engine takes in over a metric ton of air each second.
43:41Rolls-Royce uses state-of-the-art ceramic coatings inside the combustion chamber.
43:47Because in this turbine, the air-fuel mixture burns at extremely high temperatures, an excess of 2,000 degrees Celsius.
43:57C'est bon. C'est bon.
44:01The upshot? Around 15% lower fuel consumption and significantly better emission levels than its predecessor.
44:10In addition to this, Trent XWB engines are much quieter than any other aeroturbine, essential for planes flying over heavily populated conurbations.
44:28Before Airbus shipped the first A350 in December 2014, aircraft and engines were subjected to extensive stress tests.
44:42Under extreme climatic and weather conditions that the aircraft would not have to endure during normal operation.
44:58Back at Station 20, cabin integrator Laurent Barrateau sets about making the last few minor adjustments.
45:09Everything must be just right and adhere to the highest standards to ensure acceptance by the customer.
45:27Every reading light must be angled properly. No scratches must be allowed to ruin the impression.
45:48The list price of an A350-1000 is almost 330 million euros, so the customer, understandably, expects to receive a first-class product.
46:04At this point, we examine everything again very closely and place great emphasis on protecting the cabin, as all the elements are very expensive.
46:13If you install them, you should avoid damaging them.
46:17As several jobs are always being performed inside the aircraft at the same time, everything has to be well protected.
46:24Unfortunately, however, we sometimes find some damage or we discover during testing that a seat doesn't work properly.
46:31Then we have to rectify the issue.
46:36Just a couple of days until completion.
46:41Time for the plane to receive its paint job.
46:45The painters apply five coats of paint, a polyurethane paint with low volatile organic compound content.
46:54That's better for the environment and the painters.
46:58The spray guns use an electrostatic spray system.
47:02They distribute the paint extremely evenly, thus reducing paint consumption and aircraft weight.
47:15After four and a half months on the final assembly line, a new Airbus A350 is finished.
47:29Finally, the pilots take over, and this marvel of modern engineering can take to the skies.
47:36Ten aircraft of this type take off on their maiden flight each month.
47:41Soon, hundreds of them will be connecting continents and millions of people as they are carried to their destinations worldwide.
47:50And as they do, they'll be flying on the most advanced passenger aircraft in the world, the Airbus A350 from Toulouse.