Messier inaugurates landing gear test centre.(BUSINESS BRIEFING)(Messier-Dowty)(Brief article)

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Messier-Dowry has officially inaugurated a new landing gear systems test I centre for the A400M programme. Opened n mid-2006 in close partnerships with systems specialist and fellow Safran subisidiary Messier-Bugatti, the test centre is a brand new 1,200[m.sup.2] facility based in Velizy, near Paris. The rig will primarily be used for functional and endurance testing for the aircraft's "kneeling", extension/retraction and steering systems. This test facility, the first in Velizy, will be used in conjunction with MessierDowty's other existing centres in Gloucester, UK and Toronto, Canada, as well as through the CEAT facilities in Toulouse.

The inauguration follows the recent delivery of the first set of landing gear to the EADS-CASA final assembly line in Seville. Production of the A400M landing gear is split between Messier-Dowty's Gloucester facility (nose gear) and its Bidos, France facility (main landing gear).

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