Korean Air Aerospace Division Is Responsible For Three Of The
Doors On The New Airliner
Korean Air, which is the aerospace manufacturing division of
the Korean Air Group, presented its first prototype of a cargo door
to Eurocopter this week. Korean Air Aerospace Division acts as
program partner and is responsible for three of the overall doors
of the next generation Airbus A350 XWB. The acceptance ceremony
took place at the Busan Plant of Korean Air Aerospace Division and
was accompanied by the responsible CEO Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH,
Dr. Wolfgang Schoder, and Dr. Michael Rehmet, Vice President
Airplane Doors Systems as well as Hang-Jin Cho, Executive Vice
President and chief of Korean Air Aerospace Division.
On July 13th, Eurocopter signed a major contract with Airbus on
all aircraft doors (passenger, service and cargo doors) of the new
A350 XWB long-haul airliner, which represents a further step in the
process of generating synergies and applying expertise for
composite production methods between helicopter manufacturing and
the design of aircraft doors in general. The closed 1.5 billion
euro contract with the number one helicopter manufacturer includes
the development, production and delivery of all passenger and cargo
doors for the A350 XWB. As on schedule and on budget delivery is
key for the whole A350 XWB project, Eurocopter is pleased to
announce this first milestone with Korean Air.
Aircraft doors are safety critical components of an aircraft.
Due to the demanding certification and safety requirements the
doors contain a complex and failsafe mechanism to enable them to be
operated under all circumstances. Eurocopter’s Business
Centre airplane Door Systems, based in Donauwörth, Germany,
has over 20 years of proven expertise in aircraft doors. For
example, by delivering airplane doors for the Airbus A300, A310,
A318 to A321, A330/340 and A380 series. Technical know-how combined
with an attractive commercial offer enabled Eurocopter to become
partner with Korean Air Aerospace Division in the very competitive
environment of aero structures.
Dr. Wolfgang Schoder, CEO Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH, stated
during the acceptance ceremony in Seoul: “This is a
significant success for our company. We are very proud to continue
the long and successful relationship between Eurocopter and the
Korean industry on aircraft doors and helicopters with this new
project.”
By assuming responsibility for the development and manufacture
of all A350 XWB doors, Eurocopter has reached another milestone in
its efforts to be recognized as a fully-fledged systems provider.
The A350 XWB contract with Airbus is of decisive importance to the
future sustainability of Eurocopter’s manufacturing site in
Germany. It confirms the company’s position as an experienced
and highly skilled manufacturer of aircraft components, rather than
merely as a leader in the helicopter business. Furthermore it
confirms that Eurocopter’s Center of Excellence for Airplane
Door Systems is on the right track by shifting its focus from
traditional metal structures to new manufacturing technologies
based on composite materials. Korean Air was from the beginning a
valuable partner, that demonstrated its capabilities to support
this forward-looking method of production.
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