Specialised A380 stands?

[Lunar Landing]

Should this be a common thing at Heathrow? Im interested to know how the A380 will be placed at heathrow because the 121.85 message says wing tip clearance is not assured..and im sure it wont be :D

I also heard on the tv channel of discovery that the plane is too heavy for tarmac so if this is true...will they even give the beast its own route from runways?

I hope this brings up interesting discussion.

Smooth skies,

Dan :)

[Wino]

there are many orders for the aircraft, it will be built and it is going to be a massive success.

Hasn't booked as many orders as the concorde yet... So how did conc do?

The 747 was launched on a dare from Juan trip who backed his bet with an order for 25 aircraft.

Other than leasing companies no one has come forward with a compareable order in todays markets (remember there are now dozens of airlines larger than PANAM was when it made that order)

They will build it, national pride is at stake, and it will fill a niche, but the reason that the 747 was popular was not its large size, it was its long range. more than 2/3rds of all 747s were bought for RANGE not size. A 777/A340-500 can connect virtually any two points on earth which means they are gonna be marketing the A380 strictly on size, without having another extra special ability to connect 2 unconnectable cities.

Cheers
Wino

[Ace Rimmer]

Err Alphonse Toulouse will tell you that the key design brief for the A380 is that it has to fit where a 744 will fit in terms of tip clearance and pavement loading. If it meets this criteria then I reckon the key deal with this beast will be the need to ensure that the stand has at least two airbridges otherwise its gonna take forever and a day to get the brute loaded and unloaded.

[Konkordski]

I'm reliably informed that you can unload it in 67 seconds if you set fire to it. :D

[M.Mouse]

How far down the road is the building process? Is it off the drawing board yet?

[Hand Solo]

I think Flight International mentioned that they are in the process of building a plant for its construction in Hamburg.

[Taildragger67]

M.Mouse, from ths Airbus website:

A380 PRODUCTION BEGINS IN AIRBUS’ BREMEN PLANT
14 March 2002

Today marks the start of production work on the Airbus A380 in Germany, following the traditional “first metal cut” in Airbus’ Nantes site in France earlier this year. The Bremen site is the first Airbus plant in Germany to begin work on the superjumbo.

Two formed sheet metal parts of aluminium were completed for later integration into the fuselage section aft of the wings. These two initial 2.5 and 2.8 mm thick metal components are in fact clips which serve as a connecting element between frame assemblies, stringers and the fuselage shell. The Bremen site is also responsible for producing the high-lift systems (landing flaps) of the A380.

Bremen is the second largest Airbus site in Germany after Hamburg and, as well as housing one of Airbus’ five main design offices, it focuses on widebody wing equipping and the manufacture of high lift components and sheet metal parts. Each year roughly 2.5 million metal parts for all Airbus models are produced in Bremen by means of the CIAM (Computerised Integrated Automated Manufacturing) forming process.

A380 production started on 23 January this year at the Airbus’ Nantes site which began producing the wing root fairings from aluminium and the wing box from CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastics). In October 2003, A380 components from all Airbus plants all over Europe will be transported to Toulouse, where final assembly of the first A380 will take place. To date, the A380 has won 97 firm orders and commitments.