The Airbus C295 Flight Test Bed 2 (FTB2) has successfully performed its maiden flight from the final assembly line in Seville, Spain. The aircraft now starts a flight campaign with the aim of testing the new semi-morphing wing, the new flight control system, as well as a SatCom antenna embedded within the aircraft’s fuselage.
Based on the Airbus C295, the Flight Test Bed 2 is an in-flight demonstrator of the European Clean Sky 2 (CS2) and the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, where technologies related to CS2’s future regional multimission aircraft are tested.
The modifications include new materials and technologies designed to achieve noise, CO2 and NOx emissions reduction. With these technologies applied in a future regional multimission configuration, up to 43% CO2 and 70% NOx reductions can be achieved in a typical search and rescue mission of 400 nautical miles, as well as 45% less noise during take-off.
