Photo - Airbus
The first A321neo equipped with LEAP-1A engines from CFM, completed its maiden flight on 09 February in Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft, registration D-AVXB was for the experimental flight test pilots crew Martin Scheuermann and Bernardo Saez Benito Hernandez. On the same flight was test engineer in flight Gérard Leskerpit, and to monitor progress were engineers Sandra Bour Schaeffer and Emiliano Esteban Requena.
The flight lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes to complete, during which were performed tests on the change in engine speed (low / high), the behavior of systems and validation of the aircraft's flight envelope. The A321neo will join the test fleet in A320neo flight and perform a test to validate the qualities of maneuverability, performance and systems. The first A321neo is scheduled to be delivered in late 2016.
The A321neo is the largest member of A32xneo family and incorporates many innovations, including the new generation of engines, Sharklet the tip of the wings and improvements in the cabin, which together will deliver up to 20% in fuel economy compared with the previous generation. The A321neo has capacity for up to 240 passengers in a high density configuration and typical range of 6700 km, which can be expanded to 7400 km through a version LR (Long Range).
So far no domestic airline has fixed order for this version of the neo family while TAP has orders for 24 aircraft of this type, carried by the Atlantic Gateway consortium at the end of 2015. The test campaign in A32xneo flight has accumulated over 1900 hours in over 640 flights since September 25, 2014, when was conducted the first flight of A320neo equipped with PW1100G engines.
