Airbus A380 Set For Maiden Flight

[george]

Airbus A380 set for maiden flight

Airbus' test pilots are getting ready

European aircraft maker Airbus is set to carry out the maiden test flight of its A380 'super-jumbo', the world's largest passenger jet.

Thousands of aircraft enthusiasts are expected to line the runway in southern France to witness the twin-deck plane taking to the air for the first time.

Airbus, which is 20%-owned by UK firm BAE Systems, sees the A380 as the future of global air travel.

It is designed to carry more than 500 people between major airports.

Arch-rival Boeing has instead chosen to focus on mid-sized short-haul aircraft.

Take off

The A380 is due to take off from its production site in Toulouse, southern France.

More than 50,000 people are expected to watch the flight, which will also be broadcast live on television.

"The first flight will take place Wednesday, if weather permits and excluding a last-minute technical glitch," an Airbus spokeswoman told the Agence France Presse news agency.

There is likely to be more than a year of flight-testing and certification-programme work before the A380 starts commercial services.

The project, hailed as a European success story by leaders including France's President Jacques Chirac, has had its share of problems.

In December 2004, Airbus' main shareholder EADS, which has an 80% stake, revealed that the project was £1bn (1.5bn euros; $1.9bn) over budget, at more than £8.4bn.

However, Airbus says it is comfortably on track to meet a break-even sales target of 250 aircraft, with 154 orders secured so far.

Competition between Airbus and Boeing for jet orders - always intense - became feverish as Airbus set out to notch up enough orders to make its giant jumbo profitable. Boeing on Monday announced a $6bn order for 32 jets from Air Canada.

Row

Its production has also intensified a trade row between the US and Europe over subsidies paid to the aircraft industry.

The EU and US have accused each other of helping Airbus and Boeing with illegal state subsidies.

Talks broke down earlier this month and it looks as if both sides are heading for a showdown at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Airbus is banking on demand for large planes offering cheaper seats between the world's major cities.

Boeing, meanwhile, reckons that the future of air travel will be smaller planes flying to a greater number of airports.

--BBC 2005-04-27

[Rinrada]

Another giant leeeeeeep for the travel industry......

History in the Making

A380 FACTS

Its wings are built in Broughton, North Wales

Engines made by Rolls Royce

Originally called the A3XX

The '8' represents the plane's double-decks and is a symbol of success in Asia

By 2016, the A380 will account for one in eight flights out of Heathrow, the airport estimates...

Airbus A380 completes test flight

The world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, has landed safely, completing its maiden flight.

The long-awaited test lasted almost four hours, with the A380 circling the Bay of Biscay before returning to base.

The A380 took off from its production site in Toulouse with a crew of six and about 20 tonnes of test equipment.

Thousands of aeroplane enthusiasts clapped and cheered as the twin-decked, four-engine "superjumbo" made a flypast before landing.

Regional effort

Speaking after he landed the plane, test pilot Claude Lelaie said the flight was a "milestone".

Jacques Rosay, who flew the A380 during take-off, said the plane behaved "immaculately" and that as a pilot "you handle it like you handle a bicycle".

France's President Jacques Chirac called the test flight a "total success".

"A new page of aeronautical history has been written," he said in a statement. "It is a magnificent result for European industrial cooperation."

The A380's maiden voyage was powered by four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, which were designed specially for the superjumbo.

Airbus, which is owned by European firm EADS and the UK's BAE Systems, sees the A380 as the future of air travel.

Arch-rival Boeing has instead chosen to focus on mid-sized long-haul aircraft such as its new 787.

The US firm congratulated Airbus on the successful test flight, but added that "the A380 is a very large aircraft for a very small market".

The A380 - designed to carry as many as 840 people between major airports - took off from its production site in southern France just after 0830 GMT.

During the flight, there was a live satellite feed of data which was monitored by a team of experts on the ground, Airbus said.

More than 50,000 people watched the take-off and landing, many of them sitting on the grass banks that line the runway.

The historic flight was also broadcast live on television and thousands watched via a giant screen in Toulouse's main square.

More than a year of flight-testing and certification-programme work will now follow before the A380 starts commercial services.

Pilots will then have to push the plane far harder then they did on Wednesday, testing for extremes of speed, altitude and temperature, experts said.

The UK's BAE Systems owns the remaining 20% of Airbus.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4488361.stm

[Nordlys]

Any chance we'll see A380 at Suvanabhumi airport in the near future?

[Axel]

When will Suvanabhumi airport open?

TG has ordered 10 A380 to be put into Europe service from 2008-2009.

[cdnvic]

The first liftoff.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=8259...&next_id=825947

cv

[Explorer]

The first liftoff. 

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=8259...&next_id=825947

cv

ain't she a beauty!

Explorer