the Airbus jumbo jet...

[cdw]

My husband and I were talking about this new huge plane and I told him I had heard a radio discussion and they were saying it had never flown.
He thinks I am wrong, that no one would be going this far with preparations for the jet if it hadn't been flown before.
In an article, I found this..
The giant plane - the first full double-decker - is due to make its maiden test-flight by March and is expected to start carrying passengers from April next year.

Has this thing ever left the ground?

[archidante]

I don't know if it ever left the ground but it has none of the sculptural poetry of a Boeing 747. Airbus....how appropriate.These images contrast one against the other...funny that Iran and jeezera are ordering Frances new plane....

[RetFireCapt]

Although the A380 has not yet taken to the air -- the first test flights are scheduled for March -- 13 companies have already placed firm orders for 149 of the aircraft...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/01/18/airbus.380/index.html

[Plunge]

And when the first one crashes with 800 people on board... I can see the bankrupting lawsuits now.

[Fiona]

*ahem---

http://www.globalaffairs.org/forum/showthread.php?t=31166&highlight=huge+airbus

[mikepd]

There is only one airport capable of taking the plane right now as others have to be upgraded. I wonder who gets the bill for that work, want to bet it is not Airbus?

[Sierra Mike]

Hey, I think they had to extend more than a few runways for the original 747-100, too...it needed about 10,000 feet for takeoff, and the -400 needs 11,700 feet when fully loaded.

Personally speaking, the 380 looks like crap, but aesthetics are hardly the requirement these days.

SM

[SixofNine]

Hey, I think they had to extend more than a few runways for the original 747-100, too...it needed about 10,000 feet for takeoff, and the -400 needs 11,700 feet when fully loaded.

Oooh, the runways at Dulles Airport outside of D.C. are short by 200 feet.

National Airport has that 1,250-mile restriction on non-stop flights anyway, but its longest runway is less than 6,900 feet (pilots absolutely adore National for this reason :angel: ) .

I remember reading that if that Air Florida plane that crashed into the 14th Street bridge in 1982 was taking off from Dulles instead of National, it still would have been above the runway.

Brian

[cmhbob]

So what happens if the A380 doesn't get its airworthiness certification? Has any money changed hands yet on those orders?

[Sierra Mike]

I think they're just binders with intent. I doubt anyone would be expected to pay since the a/c is still in dem/val.

SM

[Stiofán]

Airworthiness certs??? You got to be kidding me. This plane is heavily subsidized by the government owners of Airbus. Of course it'll be certified.

[MNeedham73]

Airworthiness certs??? You got to be kidding me. This plane is heavily subsidized by the government owners of Airbus. Of course it'll be certified.Doesn't necessarily mean that the FAA will certify it, however.

Damn that would piss Europe off, wouldn't it lol :haha:

[John R. Beanham]

Most, if not all aircraft, are now designed by computer and the one you have seen on TV is the first prototype. It will fly soon and if it goes as well as the computer says it will go into production. They will iron out the bugs at that point.

I have the feeling that Boeing is missing the boat as Airbus have about 150 orders already and that will rapidly increase as the development progresses. With a start of perhaps 250 copies for Airbus, the available market gets smaller and smaller for Boeing.

They will HAVE to stretch the 747 all the way back. I will bet a zillion they have done all the design work already.


John.

[cdw]

Thanks John and everyone else. I understand Australia will be the first to accomodate a flight at their airport. I was trying to explain to my husband, it's never *actually* flown but just as I was having difficulty with that concept, so was he. :)

[John R. Beanham]

Hi Cyd,


I simply do NOT believe we will see the A.380 with super-dooper lounges as we have seen on TV. The name of the game is "bums on seats" and as many as possible, the aim to get the fare payers crammed in 'cattle-class' will continue. To provide such luxuries as we have seen on TV would send the price of a First/Business class ticket off the planet.

I think we saw something like this when they first announced the 747.

Australia is supposed to be first on the list as the really LLOOOOOONNNGGG sectors are what this aircraft is all about. The London/Australia and LA/Australia are 23 hours and 16 hours respectively and I can vouch for the NUMBING effect of cattle class across the Pacific. Our runways are supposed to be OK now but they will need a 15 metre extension to the width I believe.


John

[ravital]

This just in (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=591&id=66782005), from the global stinginess desk:

TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.

While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft.
...
Five days after the tsunami struck, the EU legislated against Thailand by slapping a new tariff designed to extinguish its booming trade in cumarin, a plant extract used in perfume.
(Jan Egeland could not be reached for comments).

You may not know how it files, but now you know how it sells.

[Sierra Mike]

Simply amazing.

SM

[MNeedham73]

Nice piece of blackmail the EU has working there. :thumbdown