First A330-800 becomes airborne for its maiden flight

The first A330-800 took off on November 6 at Blagnac in Toulouse, France at 10:31am local time, for its maiden flight taking place over south-western France. The aircraft, MSN1888, will perform the dedicated flight-physics tests required for this variant. The A330-800’s certification development programme will last around 300 flight-test hours, paving the way for certification in 2019. Its sibling, the larger A330-900 family member, recently completed its development testing and certification programme which validated the A330neo Family’s common engines, systems, cabin and flight & ground operations. The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000, the latest member of the Trent family of engines, has