Airbus A350F will make first flight on 29 September after high-speed tests

Airbus is only a few days away from flying its new A350F freighter for the first time. The manufacturer has confirmed the maiden flight will take place on 29 September in a post on X.

Ready for a special delivery? 📦

Tune in to our X live broadcast of the A350F maiden flight:
📆 29 September 2026
⌚️10:20 GMT+2

Note: this event remains subject to essential operational requirements, including weather conditions. pic.twitter.com/2qrSSk2qBg

— Airbus (@Airbus) September 25, 2026

The prototype completed two high-speed rejected-takeoff tests in Toulouse on Thursday. The tests hinted that the first A350F, MSN700, registration F-WXLD, had entered the final stages of preparation for its maiden flight.

Two rejected takeoff tests for the #Airbus #A350F prototype this morning! The first flight is scheduled for early next week.✈️ #Toulouse #FWXLD #Avgeek pic.twitter.com/p7wIdQYVZE

— Aviation Toulouse (@Frenchpainter) September 24, 2026

Airbus said earlier this month that it planned the A350F’s maiden flight for late September, subject to variables including the weather.

Videos and images of the runs have also appeared on social media.

A350F has moved rapidly through final ground testing

The rejected-takeoff runs follow a series of milestones that Airbus must complete before committing a new aircraft to the air.

MSN700 conducted its first taxi test at Toulouse on 18 September, according to aircraft tracking and production records.

Aviation Flights Group’s production record identifies the aircraft as MSN700, registration F-WXLD, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. Its timeline traces the prototype from completion of major structural components through final assembly, engine installation, and its appearance in full Airbus colours.

Airbus has also confirmed that the aircraft has passed several much more substantial engineering milestones.

The aircraft completed Ground Vibration Testing in June. Engineers mechanically excited the airframe and measured its response to validate the structural and aeroelastic models that will be used during flight testing.

Airbus described the test as a “key enabler” for first flight, because it provides evidence needed to begin opening the aircraft’s flight envelope.

Other ground work has included tests of the main-deck cargo door, cargo loading system and aircraft pressurisation.

The A350F has an unusually large electrically actuated main-deck cargo door, with a clear opening measuring 4.3 metres wide and 3.15 metres high. Airbus completed the first production door earlier this year before integrating it into the test aircraft.

Airbus has already flown the A350F virtually

Another significant milestone came before MSN700 started its recent taxi tests.

Airbus has begun the countdown after completing what it calls its Virtual First Flight programme, comprising 13 simulator sessions lasting about five hours each.

The development simulator is connected to real aircraft avionics test benches, including the flight controls and digital engine control systems. Airbus says the setup is approximately 90% representative of the actual aircraft.

The programme cleared systems, validated flight-control laws, rehearsed the first-flight profile and trained crews to respond to failures.

“The only significant variable left to prove in the sky is the freighter’s specific aerodynamic model,” A350F lead flight test engineer Laurent Bussiere said.

The A350F is more than an A350-1000 with its passenger cabin removed. It combines the forward fuselage length of an A350-900 with the rear fuselage length and wings of the A350-1000. Its different proportions and landing-gear geometry require Airbus to validate a new aerodynamic model and ground-handling characteristics.

First flight will deliberately use Direct Law

Airbus says MSN700 will conduct its maiden flight entirely in Direct Law, rather than the A350’s normal flight-control mode. Normal Law provides the flight-envelope and stability protections familiar to A350 pilots. Direct Law provides much more direct pilot control.

Airbus says around 10% of the derivative aircraft’s aerodynamic characteristics remain based on an unverified model until they can be confirmed in flight. The first crew has trained for the Direct Law flight profile in the simulator.

The five-person crew will comprise two pilots, one test flight engineer and two flight test engineers.

The maiden flight of MSN700 will focus on aerodynamic performance, handling qualities and autopilot testing. The aircraft has also been fitted with a special tail skid and bumper for later takeoff-performance testing.

Two A350Fs will conduct around 400 flight-test hours

The first flight will begin a planned roughly 400-hour flight-test programme involving two aircraft.

MSN700 will lead aerodynamic and handling work and will progressively clear the A350F’s flight-control laws.

A second prototype, MSN701, registration F-WCGO, will concentrate on systems testing, including air conditioning, fire and smoke testing and hot- and cold-weather trials.

Airbus expects the overall certification flight-test campaign to last around nine months.

One of the early priorities after first flight will be flight vibration, or flutter, testing. Engineers will progressively expand the aircraft’s permitted envelope towards its maximum dive speed and Mach number, building on the structural models established during June’s ground vibration tests.

The maiden flight of MSN700 will mark the most critical phase yet for a cargo plane Airbus launched in 2021 to challenge Boeing’s longstanding dominance of the large dedicated freighter market. Airbus is targeting certification in 2027, followed by first customer deliveries in the second half of the year.