Airbus partner, Premium AEROTEC, has successfully completed the curing of the largest A350 XWB fuselage panel made from carbon fibre at its site in Nordenham (Germany). Located on the forward right-hand side of the fuselage and measuring 93 square metres, the panel will undergo ultrasonic inspection, trimming and drilling in the coming days prior to being joined with the other panels that together will become the forward fuselage (Section 13-14).

Airbus opted for large fuselage panels for the A350 XWB design as they can be tailored in terms of their thickness according to the different loads required at each part of the airframe. This approach enables Airbus to optimise the airframe overall which results in enhanced performance, greater robustness and less weight