Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: xrtoronto on September 04, 2006, 12:23:57 PM
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PARIS - The Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet, took off with a full load of passengers for the first time Monday and the European aircraft maker announced further management changes in the wake of costly delays to the $13 billion super jumbo program. ADVERTISEMENT
Carrying 474 Airbus employees, the 308-ton jet left from Toulouse, southern France, on the first of four test flights scheduled this week to try out the plane's cabin environment and systems with passengers on board.
Airbus says it is on schedule to deliver the first finished A380 to Singapore Airlines Ltd. by the end of the year, despite the latest wave of costly delays that are expected to hold up subsequent deliveries by about six months. The setback led to the July ouster of Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert as well as Noel Forgeard, joint CEO of Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.
Monday saw a further management shuffle at Airbus, which named as the new A380 program head Mario Heinen, the former chief of the single-aisle A320 program. He replaces Charles Champion, who also steps down from his role as chief operating officer but stays on as an adviser to the new Airbus CEO, Christian Streiff.
Streiff has imposed a temporary hiring freeze at Airbus and is scheduled to report to shareholders by the end of this month on the full extent of the A380 delays, following a detailed audit.
With the A380, Airbus has bet heavily on future demand for very large planes to fly growing numbers of travelers among the world's increasingly congested major airports. In mid-sized, long-range jets — where Boeing Co. sees much more demand — Airbus is about four years behind its U.S.-based rival's next-generation plane, the 787 Dreamliner, tailored to cover more destinations with more frequent, nonstop services.
The A380 can seat as many as 555 people in three classes, but launch customer Singapore Airlines is expected to operate the plane with a configuration similar to the 474-seat layout chosen for the test flights with passengers.
During Monday's seven-hour sortie, about 25 cabin equipment technicians and the remaining volunteers — chosen from 15,000 Airbus staff who entered an internal lottery — are trying out the super jumbo's seating, kitchens and cabin features such as air conditioning and in-flight entertainment.
Flight tests with volunteer passengers are not a required step toward the plane's certification but nonetheless help to ensure that "airlines will benefit from a fully mature aircraft on delivery," Airbus said in a statement.
The super jumbo is entering the final stages of its test program, with 1,900 hours of flying time already logged by its team of test pilots.
It faces a significant hurdle in November, when a working group within the International Civil Aviation Organization is due to report back on the A380's "wake vortices" — air turbulence created by airliners that can be dangerous to other planes flying close behind.
As a precaution because of its size, ICAO has temporarily set a much larger minimum exclusion zone behind an airborne A380 than around Boeing 747 jumbos. If adopted permanently, the rules could hold up airport traffic behind the super jumbo and reduce the plane's efficiency.
Airbus argues that the A380 is no worse for wake turbulence than the largest version of Boeing's 747.
c&p (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_bi_ge/france_airbus)
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The only in flight entertainment I want is to be locked in a closet with a hot stewardess
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This is one beautiful aircraft
(http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/5830/a380de8.jpg)
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Anyone know what American airports can handle this beast?
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It's too clean
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DFW,LAX,JFK,LGA and any other international airports that are makeing Runway and Gate modifications
Airports (http://www.airbusjapan.com/pdf/a380/a380airport_compat.pdf#search=%22a380%20airports%22)
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Originally posted by xrtoronto
This is one beautiful aircraft
It's a face only a mother could love.
Yuck...
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I wonder if they could make the whole plane 1 big basketball court :D first NBA game at 35,000ft
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Originally posted by RAIDER14
DFW,LAX,JFK,LGA and any other international airports that are makeing Runway and Gate modifications
Airports (http://www.airbusjapan.com/pdf/a380/a380airport_compat.pdf#search=%22a380%20airports%22)
Def not LGA, but I think you meant EWR. LGA's a postage stamp.
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Originally posted by Wolfala
Def not LGA, but I think you meant EWR. LGA's a postage stamp.
I meant LHR
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Originally posted by RAIDER14
I meant LHR
Where?
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London Heathrow-LHR
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Well that's pretty close to new york anyways.
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it been a long time since there has been so much buzz about a new airliner
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Probably make a wonderful freighter for FedEx and UPS.
Of course, that small package business will never takeoff. ;)
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Better add MEM and SDF to the airport list... (Memphis and Louisville)
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UPS, my employer, has already ordered many A380s, either 9 or 12 of them.
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Originally posted by Toad
Probably make a wonderful freighter for FedEx and UPS.
Of course, that small package business will never takeoff. ;)
and the others will be lost ...
/hate FedEx
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Originally posted by xrtoronto
This is one beautiful aircraft
I disagree, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty:
(http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL767/2726312/8668097/184683914.jpg)
Beast:
(http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL767/2726312/8668097/184683919.jpg)
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(http://lifedistilled.com/images/22/427airbus550x367.jpg)
btw Rip, I think the 47 and 380 are both beautiful:)
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Originally posted by Ripsnort
I disagree, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty:
Beast:
Biased
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Originally posted by straffo
Biased
When it comes to looks, I'm not biased. I thought Boeings design for the F-35 competition was smurfy...I believed the competititons entry was much more beautiful, and it won the contract.
(http://www.jsf.mil/images/f35/f35_introduction_planes.jpg)
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eeeeekkkk look like a duck after a crash on the sound barrier !
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Originally posted by straffo
eeeeekkkk look like a duck after a crash on the sound barrier !
LOL! straffo ;)
hey and the A380 is the future, there is no real competition to this Airbus,
it will work fine, why not? And yes i think it is a beautyfull airplane, i hope
to fly with it in a near future!
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Originally posted by straffo
eeeeekkkk look like a duck after a crash on the sound barrier !
:lol :lol :aok When I first saw that aircraft I said "Loser" based on its design alone. :)
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Originally posted by Gh0stFT
LOL! straffo ;)
hey and the A380 is the future, there is no real competition to this Airbus,
it will work fine, why not? And yes i think it is a beautyfull airplane, i hope
to fly with it in a near future!
Even Airbus admits there is competition. Take the blinders off. :cool: :p
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- A senior Airbus official acknowledged Thursday that Boeing's new, slightly bigger 747 jet will pressure the European jetmaker's A380 superjumbo _ but said the move shows its U.S. archrival recognizes there is demand for larger planes.