Hawker de Havilland to make Airbus A380 wingtip fences

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Hawker de Havilland has been chosen by Airbus to design and build the wingtips and wingtip fences for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, the world's largest and most modern airliner.

Hawker de Havilland will supply all of the A380 wingtips and fences for the Airbus A380*, as part of business valued at some A$400 million/US$200 million over the life of the programme. The Airbus deal will thus bring important new business to Australia, as well as helping to safeguard aerospace industry jobs.

The wingtip fences - arrow-shaped surfaces attached to the tip of each wing - help the wing to be more efficient, saving fuel by reducing drag - as well as reducing noise by improving take-off performance. Standing some 2.4 m/7 ft 10 in tall, they will be the largest of their kind in the world.

Hawker de Havilland already builds the wingtip fences for all Airbus A330s and A340s at its factory at Bankstown in Sydney, and has delivered some 450 aircraft sets to date. It won the A380 wingtip and fence work on the grounds of technical competence, commercial competitivity, and its proven ability to deliver a quality product on time and within budget.

"Airbus has a long and successful collaboration with Australian industry, which has consistently delivered quality aircraft sections for our aircraft," says Airbus Executive Vice President A380 Programme Charles Champion. "Our continued partnership with Hawker de Havilland means that Australian workmanship will continue to span the globe in the 21st Century's new flagship, the A380."

In addition to the A380 wingtips and fences, Hawker de Havilland also makes the A330/A340 main undercarriage bay substructure and doors plus A320 wing ribs. This, together with other Airbus work placed with HdH and other local companies prior to the A380 deal, represents more than A$1,000/US$500 million of business for Australian industry.

Launched in December 2000, the A380 has already won some 100 firm orders from the world's leading airlines, including Qantas, which has ordered 12. Qantas plans to use its A380s on the "Kangaroo route" to Europe and on transpacific services, on which it will introduce a new way of flying, through better passenger comfort and economy.

Work has already begun in Europe on producing parts for the A380, which will undergo flight trials in 2005, allowing deliveries to airlines to begin in 2006. Airbus is a joint EADS Company with BAE SYSTEMS.

* Airbus sees a total market for 1,550 aircraft of > 400 seats, worth $343 billion, up to 2019.

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[Sil_722]

what materials were used to make the wingtip fences please?

[jskibo]

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[ANDYSMITH]

Chain Link

and "anti terrorist" razor wire to deter hijacking.