Last A380 Leaves Assembly Hall
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
Age: 60
Posts: 862
172 Driver
350 ok 787 dire but both not as good as 380 in my opinion and I have done a lot of LH flying in my time, with quite a lot of time on 380,less on the other two, though the 787 is on my no fly list, as plane and indeed company have issues with them for me.
350 ok 787 dire but both not as good as 380 in my opinion and I have done a lot of LH flying in my time, with quite a lot of time on 380,less on the other two, though the 787 is on my no fly list, as plane and indeed company have issues with them for me.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Netherlands
Age: 43
Posts: 230
Chief Willy
The square cube law indicates that weight increases with a higher exponential than the capacity/lift. Larger aircraft are thus structurally less efficient (payload over empty weight) than smaller ones, which negates any increase in aerodynamic efficiency (lift to drag ratio).
On a similar note, the A321neo is structurally extremely efficient, so has high payload to empty weight ratio. The aerodynamic efficiency is however a bit lower than for widebody aircraft.
Max payload / Operational empty weight (tonne/tonne)
A380: 84.0/277.0 = 30.1%
B747-8: 76.1/220.1 = 34.5%
B787-9: 52.6/128.9 = 40.8 %
A321neo: 25.5/50.1 = 50.9 %
The square cube law indicates that weight increases with a higher exponential than the capacity/lift. Larger aircraft are thus structurally less efficient (payload over empty weight) than smaller ones, which negates any increase in aerodynamic efficiency (lift to drag ratio).
On a similar note, the A321neo is structurally extremely efficient, so has high payload to empty weight ratio. The aerodynamic efficiency is however a bit lower than for widebody aircraft.
Max payload / Operational empty weight (tonne/tonne)
A380: 84.0/277.0 = 30.1%
B747-8: 76.1/220.1 = 34.5%
B787-9: 52.6/128.9 = 40.8 %
A321neo: 25.5/50.1 = 50.9 %
Pegase Driver
Join Date: May 1997
Location: Europe
Age: 71
Posts: 2,979
procede :
interesting calculation .
this for the pax version , the Fs doa bit better of course.
I was curious to see what the An124 ratio was, and surprisingly 82% ( 150 t payload /181 OEW ) our soviet friends did not do a too bad job in their days ..
interesting calculation .
B747-8: 76.1/220.1 = 34.5%
I was curious to see what the An124 ratio was, and surprisingly 82% ( 150 t payload /181 OEW ) our soviet friends did not do a too bad job in their days ..
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Solihull
Age: 35
Posts: 140
I'm a fan of the A380 - that Airbus video makes me sad. But it'll be in the air for a while yet and I suspect, in 20 years time, we'll be looking for something to fulfil a similar role. I could see, post Covid, the A380 being helpful to mop up demand into one rotation a day from smaller airports (e.g. BHX). But I'm no expert and it might be more 'hope' than 'realism'. But I'll be glad when it returns to BHX for the trip to Dubai!
Changing the subject - is there any particular reason why the tailfin and engine covers have Emirates branding, but the rest remains unpainted? Is there something special about those that means they cant be painted later?
Changing the subject - is there any particular reason why the tailfin and engine covers have Emirates branding, but the rest remains unpainted? Is there something special about those that means they cant be painted later?
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 65
Posts: 3,196
The moving bits of the rudder need to be balanced after it's painted. So it's usually painted prior to installation.
It's a pretty common sight around the Boeing flight line to see otherwise unpainted aircraft with the hinged portion of the rudder painted.
I don't know about the engine nacelles...
It's a pretty common sight around the Boeing flight line to see otherwise unpainted aircraft with the hinged portion of the rudder painted.
I don't know about the engine nacelles...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Netherlands
Age: 43
Posts: 230
I counted 84 at DWC and 33 at DXB. According to airfleets, they have 118 in total, including one that is to be scrapped. https://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Emirates.htm
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: UK
Age: 55
Posts: 3,044
A380F
All this talk of it being too late, and too uneconomical to convert it to a freighter may have to eat their words.
https://www.flightglobal.com/air-tra...138247.article
https://www.flightglobal.com/air-tra...138247.article
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: attitude is nominal
Posts: 1,327
This seems to be just the makeshift conversion for short notice standby freighters made from idle passenger airplanes. This obviously needs paperwork and certification but is far from some actual freighter conversion, special freighters and such.
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: UK
Age: 55
Posts: 3,044
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 65
Posts: 3,196
Doesn't address the low MZFW issue - if you carry much cargo there won't me any weight left for passengers.
Further, certifying a new combi is going to be a challenge - the regulations governing a new combi cert were changed after the Helderberg disaster and no one has certified a new combi since that regulation change.
Further, certifying a new combi is going to be a challenge - the regulations governing a new combi cert were changed after the Helderberg disaster and no one has certified a new combi since that regulation change.
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: ex EGNM, now NZRO
Posts: 513
Now that NZ has banned the shipping of cattle and sheep by sea maybe the A380's could be repurposed as large cattle carriers; 150 tonne payload would = 300 cows, 150 per deck, remove the overhead bins and install a 'waste' conveyor, use the hold for the dung?
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Yakima
Posts: 118
Originally Posted by TURIN
All this talk of it being too late, and too uneconomical to convert it to a freighter may have to eat their words.
https://www.flightglobal.com/air-tra...138247.article
https://www.flightglobal.com/air-tra...138247.article
“Anyone who opts for Lufthansa Technik’s exceptional solution now can easily switch to the permanent [supplementary type certification] solution later.”........Jochmann says the change involves “much more than just taking out seats”, because of the different load and safety considerations involved in placing freight in the passenger cabin.
