AIRBUS TRUSTS IN HYDRO GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT FOR THEIR GLOBAL FLIGHT LINES
Airbus has produced and delivered over 12,000 airplanes to its customers to date. An Airbus airplane takes off or lands somewhere in the world every 1.5 seconds. The aircraft manufacturer maintains four so-called flight lines worldwide where the airplanes produced on the individual final assembly lines undergo final tests. Engines are tested at the static test facility, for instance, and the rolling and braking tests are performed on the runway. The airplane takes off on its first flight after these test. In addition, a number of ground tests and any necessary rework are carried out. Flight line locations include Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), Mobile (USA) and Tianjin (China).
Final tests on the flight lines with axle-jacks and related equipment from HYDRO
All Airbus flight lines will be equipped with HYDRO Ground Support Equipment for a period of five years beginning June first. The Toulouse and Hamburg locations will be equipped first, followed by Tianjin and Mobile. The equipment includes primarily tripod-jacks and axle-jacks, which Airbus uses on the flight lines to perform a variety of tests on the completed airplanes. Axle-jacks are used in the so-called rotation orientation test for instance. This test checks whether the 0° angle of the nose landing gear that is set in the neutral position corresponds to actual angle.
Standardized equipment worldwide creates synergies
The order covers Airbus models A320, A330, A330NEO, A350, Beluga ST and Beluga XL for the next five years. The standardization creates synergies and the purchasing process in particular will be simpler for all locations.
Airbus aims to streamline its purchasing process. Purchasing should no longer be encumbered by small orders. The objective is to design the entire purchasing process, including ordering, order confirmation and invoicing, to be as lean as possible. Pre-arranged price lists and conditions have been set.
Simply stated, every Airbus flight line in need of axle-jacks or tripod-jacks must initiate a purchase order via the internal Airbus system. The purchase order reaches the area sales manager at HYDRO responsible for the respective region without additional requests for quotations or negotiations.