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Superjumbo A380 on global tour
GILLES RAMEL
Agence France-Presse
TOULOUSE, FRANCE -- The Airbus A380 started a global circumnavigation Saturday that will take in the South and North Poles on the last of a series of test flights before it applies for its air safety certificate.
The plane, which is being tested under commercial conditions, is seeking to gain its airworthiness certificate by mid-December from European and U.S. aviation safety authorities.
It flies from Toulouse, France, where it is assembled, to Johannesburg, Sydney and Vancouver before returning to France.
The superjumbo left the southwestern city for South Africa at 9:15 p.m.
(2015 Greenwich Mean Time) and is expected back in Toulouse on Thursday between 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. (1130 and 1200 GMT).
"We'll be in Johannesburg on Sunday. The next day we'll be in Sydney after flying over the South Pole for a very long 16-hour flight," said Fernando Alonso, vice-president of Airbus SAS's flight-testing division.
"This is certainly not the shortest route, but since we will fly not far from the pole we wanted to fly over this iconic place."
After Australia, the A380 will head to Vancouver before returning to Toulouse.
"During the flight to Toulouse, there will be pilots of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration who will witness the proper functioning of the plane," Mr. Alonso added.
On Friday, the giant plane returned from 18 days of testing that took it to Asia, with stop-offs at major airports including Singapore, home of Singapore Airlines (SIA).
This airline is slated to take delivery of the first A380 next October, but deliveries are about two years behind schedule because of electrical cabling problems.
"During these three flights, the plane performed remarkably well. "There were no major breakdowns, only some faults that we were already aware of. "Each flight and each landing were on time," Mr. Alonso said.
"Over all, at the moment, you could say 'move along, there's nothing to see,' " he added, indicating that, during tests, the plane was set to notch up 150 hours flying time.
"We are a month ahead of the program schedule," Gilles Robert, former director of testing at Airbus, added.
The plane's first flight took place in April last year.
The Asian leg took the world's biggest plane, which can carry up to 840 passengers, to Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo as well as the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Peking and Shanghai. Those on board included pilots from the European regulatory authorities.
At all the destinations, "the welcome was enthusiastic," particularly from clients and members of the public who often "overran terminals to see the plane," Mr. Alonso said.
When asked about clients' concerns about late delivery, he simply said that "people were so happy to see the plane that they did not raise the subject with us members of the technical team".
Highlighting the plane's qualities, Claude Lelaie, an A380 test pilot, revealed that in Ireland two weeks ago, the plane took off and landed in 56-knot crosswinds.
Companies in Asia and the Pacific area represent about 30 per cent of orders placed -- 44 out of a total 149.
At the end of this latest flight, the giant plane will have completed 17 days of tests in a normal operational environment.
Asked of its chances of gaining certification, Mr. Alonso replied that, "until the ticket is delivered, you never know, but we are beginning to see the light very clearly."