Horizon plays its part in the creation of the Airbus A350
By Vicki Crowe, Account Manager for Horizon Platforms
There is no doubt that the whole is generally greater than the sum of its parts – especially when it comes to the creation of something as awe-inspiring as the Airbus A350 – but I do think it’s important sometimes to pause and reflect on just how many different ‘parts’ – both people and machines – are involved in the creation of the finished product.
Horizon Platforms is just one of hundreds of companies involved in helping Airbus create its latest, greenest and most advanced aircraft – the A350 XWB.
From its factory in Broughton, Flintshire – the biggest manufacturing site in Wales and indeed Britain – a fleet of thirty battery-powered scissor lifts from Horizon Platforms are playing their part in the construction of the wings for the A350.
In a fascinating documentary, ‘Carol Vorderman: Flying Engineer’, the presenter and newly qualified pilot gets hands-on experience with the Airbus workforce as part of the BBC’s ‘Real North Wales’ season, a series of programmes taking a fresh look at life across North Wales.
The programme shows how Airbus engineering is revolutionising air travel by creating a new, aerodynamic wing designed to make the A350 a faster, more efficient and quieter aircraft. Horizon’s scissor lifts are some of the many machines and access platforms used in the wing manufacture and construction, enabling safe work at height and precise transportation of the carbon fibre wings around the factory.
The programme charts the steps involved in producing the wings over several months – from construction to cleaning and inspection – before being transported from the factory in North Wales to France for assembly.
Viewers can learn how Airbus engineers have studied the wings of Tawny Indian Eagles and applied the natural aerodynamic principles to the Airbus A350. They can also see how the jigsaw of thousands of individual parts are brought together from all over the globe to construct the jetliner, “just like a massive Meccano set”.
Horizon has a great working relationship with Airbus, supplying everything from scissor lifts to service and maintenance contracts, and we are very proud of the small but important part we play in helping to build one of the world’s largest and greenest aeroplanes.