Royal Air Force A.400M Atlas

[Kevin Farnell]

Interesting to see that the outer prop is stopped and feathered (both sides, if you look closely at the other under the aircraft).

Kevin

I don't see the far outer prop...just two blades of the inner looking like the two on the inner this side??

You're right Garry. I could have sworn I could make out two props when I looked last night. Perhaps I shouldn't have had that last beer.

Kevin

[Garry Russell]

No worries...just as long as you enjoyed the beer

[Chris558]

Where do they make the wings now Filton has closed?

[DaveB]

Probably China

Do we have any manufacturing capability in this country anymore?

ATB
DaveB

[Airspeed]

Thanks Skippy,
Those bits look quite different in this video, compared to Joe's steep bank still shot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTLM3IHO0U0
I can see here that they would act something like winglets, as you say, stopping spanwise flow.
They are deployed in the above, but not in this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjC_nIK8ySA

I'm guessing that in the first video, they are doing a lot of slow turns and need the extra lift.

Sorry to be a PITA, but you mention hiding the control mechanism....

[Dev One]

In the first video,If you look at about 5:10 onwards as it is turning you can see the vortices showing. I think the white patches are either vortex generators or they could be measuring local pressures. They might be testing the aerodynamics due to the unusual prop rotation effects? (The props rotate against each other on the same wing)
Keith

[clavel9]

Where do they make the wings now Filton has closed?

Probably China

Do we have any manufacturing capability in this country anymore?

ATB
DaveB

Airbus UK at Filton isn't closed is it? It's also worth bearing in mind that Bombardier in Northern Ireland manufactures and assembles fuselage and wing components for a wide variety of that company's aircraft - including composite wings for the CSeries airliner - as well as engine nacelles for Rolls Royce, General Electric and IAE. They have four facilities in Northern Ireland in all, including the main facility at the old Short plant at Belfast Harbour. All is not lost.

[Garry Russell]

Bomabardier goes back to the Shorts days were they even then did a lot of podding for engines and other sub assemblies. They used to make the wings for the Fokker Fellowship, an aeroplane that was 60% British. The running joke back then was they used to Make 330/360's out of the boxes the parts for sub assembly came in ...cruel I know...but

There is quite a bit of quiet but high value sub assembly work still undertaken in the UK and long may that continue.

I would just be nice if Airbus looking for extra full production lines would look at the UK, even if smallish scale perhaps specialising in odd one off orders rather than the huge lines of standard machines it would be something that shows. Sub assembly production is vital and often more improtant but goes unnoticed. The main line than take all these made up parts as complet 'bolt on' units and fairly quickly joins them all up, paints them and gets all the credit.

[cstorey]

Virtually all Airbus production is now at Chester, where they have recently opened a brand new second production facility in another new building. The place is fascinating - quiet as a Cathedral and producing wings which you just bolt on and plug in, all ready to operate

[Garry Russell]

Flat pack Airbusses