Airbus A380 Development

[TW Teo 0]

From what I've heard (might be a urban legend though), Airbus initially designed the A380 without any thrust reverser at all... until the FAA requested them to do so.

 

Due to its enormous wings, the A380 has a lower take-off and landing speed than other comparable widebodies, hence less braking power is required. Remember the A380 has a slow approach speed equal to that of the A320!

 

I'm guessing maintenance of the extra 2 reversers would also be an issue, plus some weight savings as well. It makes sense if the engineers determined they're not needed.

[BC Tam 2]

..... Wonder why didn't they just leave it there since it will be a good thing to have in the case of a rejected take off so u dont have to blow all the tires and replace all the brakes ...

Some bright spark probably teamed up with a miserly bean counter and proved on mathematically on paper that it will be cheaper "to blow all the tires and replace all the brakes" than to fix thrust reversers on 1 & 4 plus weight (read cost of fuel) savings from flying those extra gadgets around during projected economical lifespan of a whalejet

[S V Choong 4]

If you think the A380 is big now, just wait.

 

Airbus has always planned for a stretched version that could carry about 100 more passengers -- perhaps as many as 1,000 in a one-class configuration.

 

Airbus has not yet launched the bigger A380-900, but several current A380 customers, notably Emirates and International Lease Finance Corp., are very interested.

 

Steve Udvar-Hazy, founder and chief executive of ILFC, the world's largest aircraft leasing company, has said he believes the bigger A380-900 will ultimately be the best-selling variant. Hazy is one of the industry's most respected executives.

 

Adam Pilarski, lead analyst for the Avitas aviation consulting firm, said the A380 is a plane that is "itching to be stretched."

 

The huge wing of the A380, nearly as long as a football field, was designed to support a much bigger fuselage than the current model.

 

"The wing is so huge that the plane looks weird," Pilarski said.

 

He went so far as to predict that the A380 will "be a flop" if it is not stretched.

 

If Airbus builds the bigger jet, however, sales could eventually reach about 1,000 units, he said. "The A380 will become much bigger. I guarantee it."

 

Stretched versions of the same plane are more efficient. It's why Boeing is developing bigger variants of its 787 Dreamliner, just as it did with the 777, 767 and 757. Likewise, Airbus will stretch its planned A350, just as it did with the A330 and A340.

 

And eventually the A380.

 

Singapore Airlines has configured its two-deck A380 that enters service Thursday with seats for 471 passengers. But the plane can carry many more than that. It was certified to carry 871 passengers and crew -- the number of people that Airbus evacuated from the jet in 90 seconds during a certification test.

 

Emirates, the biggest customer for the A380, plans a 650-seat, two-class configuration in some of its planes.

 

But no airline that has ordered the A380 has said it will pack the plane with a high-density configuration.

 

Currently, All Nippon Airways of Japan operates 747s on domestic routes with a high-density configuration of 570 seats -- the most of any 747 flying today.

 

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/336...80bigger24.html

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

Agree. The wing span & tail height makes A380 looks fat & short. Unlike B747, the proportion of the wing span, tail height & fuselage is just perfect !

[BC Tam 2]

..... Airbus will stretch its planned A350, just as it did with the A330 and A340.

Nope, the A330 has only ever been shrunk, as far as I know !

[Azuddin 1]

Nope, the A330 has only ever been shrunk, as far as I know !

 

Yeah the A330-300 was shortened with taller tail to make it into -200.

 

Azuddin

[S V Choong 4]

Yeah the A330-300 was shortened with taller tail to make it into -200

 

I think what he means was the A330 and A340 frames. The A330 and A340 shares the same frame count, very much like the A300 and A310 sharing the same frame count. My 2 cents.

[BC Tam 2]

..... very much like the A300 and A310 sharing the same frame count

Be that as it may, they are certainly not the same length though !

[Simon 3]

 

 

Got this info from DAC

[Yusoff 1]

TAM? Hmm... how many?

Seeing TAM reminds me of the overspeed/overshot incident last year...

 

Love the Aerolineas Argentina condor (?) at the rudder. Like another extra wing for the A380...

Edited January 28, 2008 by Yusoff

[Azmir I. 1]

TAM? Hmm... how many?

Seeing TAM reminds me of the overspeed/overshot incident last year...

 

Love the Aerolineas Argentina condor (?) at the rudder. Like another extra wing for the A380...

The TAM A320 accident at Conganhas Airport was a result of mishandling of aircraft with 1 reverser inoperative and not because of overspeed or overshot.please get the facts right.

[Yusoff 1]

The TAM A320 accident at Conganhas Airport was a result of mishandling of aircraft with 1 reverser inoperative and not because of overspeed or overshot.please get the facts right.

woo ho... uuu-kayy....

[Chee Yong 0]

Hopefully this will turn real soon. Hope I have the opportunity to spot this livery.

Edited January 29, 2008 by Chee Yong

[Simon 3]

Hopefully this will turn real soon. Hope I have the opportunity to spot this livery.

 

Not so fast dude.

[Pieter C. 5]

Thai Air Delays A380 Deliveries To Dec 2012

 

July 23, 2009

Thai Airways said on Thursday it has negotiated with Airbus to delay the delivery of six A380 superjumbos to December 2012 from late 2010.

 

"We want to postpone the delivery as far as possible to reflect the current market conditions," Chairman Ampon Kittiampon told reporters after its board meeting.

 

The airline, majority owned by the state, is among several in Asia struggling to cope with reduced air travel because of the economic crisis and the latest flu outbreak. It was also hit by political instability in Thailand that cut tourist numbers.

 

(Reuters)

[leon t 0]

anyway SQ A380 have been making numerous training flights to KLIA and touch and go since earlier last year when it got their first few A380s - so the A380 is no stranger to KLIA.

[aizuddinsulaiman 0]

what is the actual date...

some say 10th n some say 13th or 14th...

which one is true??

[Norman 1]

what is the actual date...

some say 10th n some say 13th or 14th...

which one is true??

It was 4 years ago... I can't remember exactly... had to dig the relevant threads..

[Mohd Yohan 0]

went there by motorbike...10 october 2005 if im not mistaken...huhu..

 

p/s at 1st i thought, we are receiving it already, once i read the date...i loled...haha

[Mohd Yohan 0]

i checked...it was..17 November 2005..

 

on the other note, i wonder when we are receiving ours ...2011

[PC Yuen 0]

Yeap..it was 17th Nov 2005. I had to take emergency leave for this once in a life time opportunity to attend the visit by the mammoth A380.Had a chance to visit the belly and cockpit as well. Still keeping all the momentous and goodies from the event.

Edited September 24, 2009 by PC Yuen

[flee 5]

Two years on from its service debut, operators have told Flight International that the Airbus A380 has proved itself to be a crowd pleaser from a passenger point of view but suffers some frustrating technical problems.

 

Full story here: http://www.flightglobal.com/page/A380-In-Service-Report/

[flee 5]

Airbus will begin a short flight-test programme of the A350's Rolls-Royce Trent XWB on the A380 development aircraft early next year, ahead of engine certification at the end of 2011.

 

The new Trent engine, which is the only powerplant option offered on the A350, will be installed in one of the inboard positions on Airbus's Trent 900-powered A380 development aircraft (MSN001) later this year and begin flight-testing early in 2011. "We will fly a short flight-test programme of around 100h," says Airbus's flight-test chief Fernando Alonso. The tests will be focused on engine, nacelle and powerplant system integration.

 

R-R says that ahead of the A380 flights, a Trent XWB will begin ground-testing in June.

 

Full report here: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/01/19/337301/airbus-to-test-fly-a350s-trent-on-a380-next-year.html

[Pieter C. 5]

Strong Dollar Lifts Airbus A380 Break Even Hopes

 

May 14, 2010

 

A rising dollar could help Airbus break even on the A380 superjumbo, the finance chief of parent EADS said on Friday.

 

"Provided the progress that we see and the maturity of the aircraft, which needs to be improved, is progressing, certainly there is hope that at the end of the planning horizon we are approaching break even," Finance Director Hans Peter Ring said.

 

"But it is not to be understood as guidance, just as an extrapolation of current trends," he cautioned.

 

"We will see break even somewhere on the A380, particularly, obviously, if the dollar is at rates seen today, (which) might very positively affect the whole situation."

 

Asked to explain what he meant by his reference to the planning horizon, he said, "we are planning for 5 years".

 

The A380 was initially delayed by wiring installation problems and has most recently faced delays and cost pressures as Airbus switches over to a more automated type of production of the world's largest airliner.

 

Airbus officials have said the double-decker plane will be a strain on the planemaker's finances for some time.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Airbus Hits 30 A380 Deliveries, Maintains 2010 Goal

 

June 5, 2010

 

Airbus reached a milestone with the delivery of its 30th A380 superjumbo on Friday, the seventh so far this year, and said it was on course to reach a target to deliver at least 20 in 2010.

 

The latest A380, worth USD$346 million at list prices, became the 10th superjumbo in the fleet of Dubai-based Emirates, which is the plane's biggest customer with a total of 58 orders.

 

As Airbus carried out the formalities for the latest Emirates delivery, an Airbus source denied a French newspaper report that it had sold up to 30 A380s worth USD$10 billion to the same carrier, adding: "There seems to be a confusion."

 

Les Echos website reported earlier on Friday that Emirates planned to order 12 more A380s and place 18 options on the aircraft at the Berlin air show next week. The Berlin show does not usually see major orders, with airlines traditionally preferring to make announcements at larger air shows such as Farnborough in England and Le Bourget in France, which take place on alternate years in July.

 

Emirates, which has USD$55 billion in orders with Airbus and Boeing, said in May it would take delivery of seven A380s and one Boeing 777 in 2010-2011 and that it planned to announce new aircraft orders, likely at Farnborough next month.

 

Airbus sales director John Leahy last month doubled the planemaker's target for A380 sales this year to more than 20, saying a rebound in passenger traffic pointed to resilience in the world economy.

 

Airbus has orders for a total of 202 A380s but critics say the 525-seat plane, which entered service in 2007, has sold relatively poorly compared to upcoming mid-sized models because it is restricted to flying between large intercontinental hubs.

 

(Reuters)