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SA companies start on A400M components
- Two South African partner companies in the Airbus Military A400M transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft programme, Aerosud and Denel Saab Aerostructures (DSA), are starting to increase production of the aircraft components that they are responsible for.
There was an interruption of about two years during which these companies’ tools and jigs largely sat idle due to technical problems with the aircraft. The prototype A400Ms proved to be overweight while the clearance and certification of the engines took much longer than originally expected. The significant cost increases which resulted from this meant that the core partner companies were required to obtain refinancing of the program.
According to a report by Aerosud CEO Dr Paul Potgieter, correcting the technical problems required t redesign work across the entire aircraft. “We had to completely redesign all our components as the specifications were changed by Airbus Military.” The components that Aerosud is responsible for are mostly classified as secondary structures. These are the nose fuselage linings, cargo hold linings and cockpit linings, the cockpit rigid bulkhead and the nose fuselage galleys. However, the company is also responsible for the wing tips, which are significant as they will contain elements of the aircraft’s defence aid subsystem.
DSA has also had to redesign its components, which are large primary structures, without which the aircraft cannot fly. These are the top shells for the centre fuselage section and the wing/fuselage fairings. The company is producing two top shells for each aircraft – one in front and one behind of the wing box, which joins the wing to the fuselage. The wing/fuselage fairings are manufactured mostly from composite materials but include aluminium parts. Each fairing is 15 m long, 7 m wide and nearly 3 m high.
The new designs have lower weight but will be able to withstand higher stress loads.
