An Airbus A350 has taken off successfully in Toulouse on the maiden flight of the European manufacturer's next generation jet.
Thousands of people watched and applauded as the plane gained height and accelerated away.
Using around 50% composite construction and built in a facility that can generate 55% of its own energy, owner EADS promises to make it the most 'green' commercial aircraft in the world.
The new model, which will go into battle against the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is to use engines built by Rolls-Royce.
The wide-bodied test plane, powered by twin Rolls-Royce engines, took off at 9am BST.
"I'm known to be sometimes a bit cold-blooded. I can tell you today it was really emotional," Fabrice Bregier, head of Airbus, said.
A British pilot is at the controls of the plane, along with five other crew members on board. The flight is expected to last up to four hours and reach a height of 25,000 feet.
It is the first of five A350 test planes that will be built prior to seeking airworthy certification for production. More than 10,000 hours of ground testing has already been completed.
The maiden flight is normally to check basic system operations and future tests will extreme temperature, cross-wind, brake and engine.
The flight comes just days before the start of the Paris air show, where the European firm hopes to fill its order book with airlines around the world.
A second version of the A350, the A350-1000, is expected to be placed as a rival to Boeing's 777.
Today's flight precedes a test-flying period that Airbus hopes will last less than 18 months, with the first delivery expected at the end of next year.
Confirmed customers so far include Qatar Airways, British Airways and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific.
The A350 will complete Airbus's long-haul stable, which includes the A380 super jumbo. It will gradually replace the older A330, a popular plane that analysts say has generated almost half of the firm's revenues in recent years.
The test flight may cast a shadow over Boeing at the Paris show, where the US firm is hoping to prove its Dreamliner is back on track after recent technical problems forced the worldwide grounding of the fleet.
But even as late as this week gremlins continued to hit the Dreamliner - with three Japanese planes taken out of service due to minor technical glitches.
A Boeing spokesperson told Sky News the issues were minor and would not affect the 787 roll-out.
Thousands of people watched and applauded as the plane gained height and accelerated away.
Using around 50% composite construction and built in a facility that can generate 55% of its own energy, owner EADS promises to make it the most 'green' commercial aircraft in the world.
The new model, which will go into battle against the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is to use engines built by Rolls-Royce.
The wide-bodied test plane, powered by twin Rolls-Royce engines, took off at 9am BST.
"I'm known to be sometimes a bit cold-blooded. I can tell you today it was really emotional," Fabrice Bregier, head of Airbus, said.
A British pilot is at the controls of the plane, along with five other crew members on board. The flight is expected to last up to four hours and reach a height of 25,000 feet.
It is the first of five A350 test planes that will be built prior to seeking airworthy certification for production. More than 10,000 hours of ground testing has already been completed.
The maiden flight is normally to check basic system operations and future tests will extreme temperature, cross-wind, brake and engine.
The flight comes just days before the start of the Paris air show, where the European firm hopes to fill its order book with airlines around the world.
A second version of the A350, the A350-1000, is expected to be placed as a rival to Boeing's 777.
Today's flight precedes a test-flying period that Airbus hopes will last less than 18 months, with the first delivery expected at the end of next year.
Confirmed customers so far include Qatar Airways, British Airways and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific.
The A350 will complete Airbus's long-haul stable, which includes the A380 super jumbo. It will gradually replace the older A330, a popular plane that analysts say has generated almost half of the firm's revenues in recent years.
The test flight may cast a shadow over Boeing at the Paris show, where the US firm is hoping to prove its Dreamliner is back on track after recent technical problems forced the worldwide grounding of the fleet.
But even as late as this week gremlins continued to hit the Dreamliner - with three Japanese planes taken out of service due to minor technical glitches.
A Boeing spokesperson told Sky News the issues were minor and would not affect the 787 roll-out.
Source : SkyNews
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