Crafting a flying display at the world’s greatest air show is all about spectacle, but what goes on behind the scenes to make that happen? We caught up with the crew flying the Airbus A321XLR display at this year’s Paris Air Show and asked them to tell us the story of how they go about showcasing the new aircraft at one of the biggest dates in the aviation calendar.
There are currently three A321XLR test aircraft. The aircraft that debuted at the show was MSN11080 F-WWAB, the only airframe fitted with an indicative cabin of premium and economy seating. Click below to check out our exclusive on-board video of the A321XLR flying display at the Paris Air Show.
So, how do you create a flying display?
Step one – choose your crew
The first step in creating a flying display is to choose your crew. The A321XLR display aircraft showcased at the Paris Air Show operated with what can only be described as an elite three-person crew, consisting of two pilots and one flight test engineer.
Hugues Van Der Stichel – Test Pilot (Captain)
Hughes joined Airbus in 2000 as an experimental test pilot. He worked on the Airbus A340-600, A340-500, A318, A380, and A400M. He is the lead pilot on the A350 and works on the new A321XLR.
Yann Beaufils – Test Pilot (Captain)
Yann began his career in the French Naval Air Force. He has been involved extensively in military and civilian aircraft testing and served as Deputy Air Boss on the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle. He is involved in testing all developments of the A350 and A321XLR.
Jean-Philippe Cottet – Flight Test Engineer
Jean-Philippe was appointed as Head of Flight Tests at Airbus in 2021. Prior to this, he worked on the development and testing of engines for the A400M, A380 and A318.
Most commercial flights are operated by a two pilot crew, with a Captain sat in the left seat and a first officer in the right. The display flights are operated by two highly experienced test pilots – in this case Hughes and Yann – who are both captains. Despite this, one of them is still legally required to act as pilot in command (PIC) and is ultimately responsible for the flight. The crew follow typical pilot flying and pilot monitoring roles that are used in commercial operations, whereby one pilot flies the aircraft and the other handles radio, configuration, checklists and crosschecking the flying pilot’s actions. In a display environment, the flight test engineer operates the third seat in the cockpit and provides further monitoring and coordination duties.
Step two – design your display
The phrase to have in mind when designing a flying display? “Impress but don’t frighten.”
The maneuvers the crew fly are largely defined by the aircraft characteristics Airbus want to sell. In the case of the A321XLR, the display is crafted to showcase maneuverability, safety, and quietness. This means steep climbs, tight turns, and low and slow flight are on the menu. The moves are designed to take the aircraft slowly and safely to the edge of its performance margins.
The crew then designs and orders these maneuvers into a tight display profile (or ‘box’) that keeps the aircraft close to the audience whilst remaining at a safe distance – hence to “impress but not frighten”. The pilots also told us that a display profile for a larger aircraft, such as an A330, would be similar but slower. Apparently it is common for larger aircraft to display at slightly slower speeds.
Step three – practice makes perfect
The crew then undertake extensive practice of the display profile in a full motion engineering flight simulator in Toulouse. The aim of these three simulator flights is to finetune the routine, assess how the aircraft responds to flying the routine, and to synchronize the crew. The latter is arguably the most important part, as the synergy that is essential to safe commercial operations is even more important when pushing an aircraft to its limits in an air display.
The simulator is the ideal place to practice critical failures. Whilst pilots train to deal with major failures at the usual stages of flight (such as takeoff, cruise, approach and landing) display pilots have to be ready to deal with such issues whilst flying at low altitudes, unusual attitudes or very slow speeds.
The crew also practice for computer failures that might reduce the level of automatic protection the Airbus fly by wire system provides. For example, a reversion to a lower control law may remove bank angle protection which normally stops the aircraft rolling beyond its safe limit.
Step four – time to fly
The display at the Paris Air Show was flown inside a carefully designed safe zone referred to as ‘The Box’. The pilots told us that keeping the aircraft ‘inside the box’ is the most challenging element of the display, and that this is particularly challenging at Paris Le Bourget. Not only do the crew have to maintain safe distance from the crowd, but they also must remain clear of arriving and departing traffic at Europe’s third busiest airport, Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Captain Hughes further explained that it’s especially important to have an awareness of the wind conditions when executing turns, as once the maneuver begins it can be difficult to correct or adjust it.
Step five – never stop learning
The A321XLR is still undergoing certification with aviation authorities. This means that all the data collected by test aircraft can be used to better understand the performance of the type, and support its journey to certification. The data collected in a flying display is no exception. Display flights provide engineers with a constant stream of performance and systems data, received at a crew monitoring station in the cabin. The flying display is flown within the same operational limits as a commercial flight. The data gathered throughout testing and display flights helps to set the safe operating limits that airlines use to keep you safe on every journey.
How can you track Airbus company flights on Flightradar24?
It is very easy to identify and track Airbus company aircraft on Flightradar24.
- Keep an eye on Airbus facilities at Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS)andHamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) – Toulouse and Hamburg are the nerve centers of Airbus in Europe, with final assembly lines located on site and a considerable amount of test and delivery flights.
- Have a whale of a time – Keep an eye out for Airbus’ Beluga transporter fleet. These aircraft are developments of the Airbus A300 and A330 aircraft which can carry large aircraft parts to the final assembly line in TLS. The Beluga is a first flight tracking favorite, and the fleet operates under the callsign ‘BGA’. Enter this into the search box on the flightradar24 website or in your app to see all Belugas currently in the air. You will frequently see them operating from Toulouse to facilities in Hamburg, Seville and Chester.
- Search for the ‘AIB’ callsign – A similar search for the callsign ‘AIB’ will display all Airbus company flights currently airborne.
Cover image: Alex Meunier, JetPhotos
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