Spectators Balcony (Spotters Corner) If you're not a professional pilot but want to discuss issues about the job, this is the best place to loiter. You won't be moved on by 'security' and there'll be plenty of experts to answer any questions.

A 380 (Merged)

Old 3rd Aug 2006, 08:41
  #141 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Surrey Hills
Posts: 1,478
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Flight Detent
Hi Mudfoot,
Patience will certainly NEED to be a virtue flying anywhere near any A380.
The time needed to check in, assemble at the gate(s), load all the pax, etc......Cheers, FD


Shirley,
Two decks with separate boarding facilities will load in the same time as one deck????? Like having two 747's alongside boarding at the same time.
Aviate 1138
aviate1138 is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 14:34
  #142 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Stuck in the middle...
Posts: 1,638
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Originally Posted by barryt
Richard Branson knows what he's doing... But then again, he's always been light-years ahead of BA....
Except when crossing the Pond before October '03!

Actually BA had 744s some years before VS. They were going to nearly every port VS flies to, years before VS. They had flat beds... years before VS.

Not wanting to get into a slanging match, but yer got yer facts wrong.

Maybe BA have other (commercial) things on their minds to think about (like getting their pension deficit sorted, like numerous other FTSE-100 companies)before stumping up major capex money for new airframes when they've got a pretty good mix for their route structure as it is. There are less than ten routes BA flies, which might support the 380 - and importantly, the infrastructure associated with it. BA has previously said that if it could trade their 744s for 777s it'd jump at it - so clearly jumping into the point-to-point camp (hence possibly a more willing 787 or 350 customer).

Not actually that bad a commercial strategy to let someone else suffer whilst the early bugs are ironed out. If BA came onto the 380 order book, you can bet that Leahy would find a way to squeeze them in (eg. give FedEx a bit of an incentive to delay a few of their F-models). And then there are the airframes ordered by leasing companies (eg. ILFC) - have these been fully allocated yet? No? There ya go.
Taildragger67 is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 17:37
  #143 (permalink)  

Rebel PPRuNer
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Toronto, Canada (formerly EICK)
Age: 50
Posts: 2,834
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Talking about equipment is a bit pointless unless you consider whether any change in strategy is coming under Walsh.

(1) If Fortress Heathrow is the plan, just as it is now, then 380s might work as eventually they will be filled - 748 is not a huge growth over 744 if you're intending to buy with a window of 20 years of service into airports like JFK which have limited capacity for additional movements. Eventually you probably look at more 321s to replace the shuttle 757s and displace LHR 319/320 for more pax/slot.

(2) If the plan to accommodate growth included expanding LGW/MAN/BHX/GLA service then 773s and 787s (to replace the 767/772 market size and provide T/A out of the regions) and a smaller number of 748s to retain commonality and offer a smaller growth size ex LHR would be appropriate.

There doesn't seem to be much chance of (2) so...
MarkD is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 17:53
  #144 (permalink)  
Paxing All Over The World
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hertfordshire, UK.
Age: 67
Posts: 10,126
Received 58 Likes on 48 Posts
Not aiming to get into a heavy debate barryt but I think that the Y pax have made it clear that they only want the lowest fare and the highest pax requirements are well set out by swedish (above). The actual machine will make no difference and I doubt if more than 5% of pax know what machine they are on.

When the 747 first came out, it did lower seat costs and it did attract people. Then the 767 did the same for the thinner routes but pax began to realise that seat size and the number of toilets was being scaled back. Long haul travel is remarkably cheap now for many Y pax and the a/c are pretty full. It's one thing to regularly fill 7 x 747 for one route in one week but fill 7 x 380? I have no doubt that Singapore will do well with the machine but that is because most of their routes are long (very long) and some have two rotations per day. Therefore, they will be making savings very quickly. For a carrier to take a route with a 74n and expand it to a 380 will take some nerve and a lot of cash.
PAXboy is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 18:31
  #145 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Rural Virginia
Age: 70
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by aviate1138
Shirley,
Two decks with separate boarding facilities will load in the same time as one deck????? Like having two 747's alongside boarding at the same time.
Aviate 1138
A1138, you caught on quick - that's exactly what is intended. Good call!

Cheers, y'all.
Mudfoot is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 18:55
  #146 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: 39N 77W
Posts: 1,630
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've been a pax on a 747 that loaded through two doors at the same time ... one door was for pax on the port aisle, the other for the starboard.
seacue is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 19:15
  #147 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Rural Virginia
Age: 70
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
...and a great battle ensued for those who sat in the middle. lol
Mudfoot is offline  
Old 3rd Aug 2006, 19:17
  #148 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: what U.S. calls ´old Europe´
Posts: 941
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I noticed that one Hydraulic system is gone.
From the typical 3 GBY the Blue is missing. Is this the result of a saving weight? how about redundancy?
yep, It´s for weight saving. Additionally the hydraulic pressure has been increased (like on the Concorde or on military aircraft) to reduce fluid volume and pipe diameter.
Additional electrically powered actuators are installed (two types, fully contained electrohydraulic ones, that just need electricity and a type that neds low pressure hydraulic fluid and electric power, so if all hydraulic pumps fail, these are still working, but if the hydraulic fluid is lost, they stop working)
Compared with the A340, the number of rudders and elevators is doubled, the number of ailerons is trippled. The total number of actuators is much higher. There are two hydraulic and two electric systems, so 4 flight control powering systems in total (same number as on the 747 and the L1011, more than on the DC-10/MD-11, 737, 757, 767...) So the overall redundancy should be higher while still saving weight.
Volume is offline  
Old 5th Aug 2006, 18:58
  #149 (permalink)  

Eight Gun Fighter
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Western Approaches
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It's too early to call this yet.
Airbus will catch up although wire bundles a metre short and some lack of wiring paths are worrying. And it doesn't look quite right.
The thing is point to point or hub to hub. That is the question.
The proof will be in the pudding.
I imagine there will be room for both.
Rollingthunder is offline  
Old 5th Aug 2006, 20:04
  #150 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,410
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by M.Mouse
Or doublespeak for saying that he was not convinced of the economics of the ugly thing in the first place.
More likely he doesn't want to be the introductory airline for another Airbus after his CX experience introducing the 330's.
BusyB is offline  
Old 27th Aug 2006, 10:17
  #151 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: still in bed
Posts: 190
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A 380 (Merged)

In a recent cockpit layout picture of the A 380 I have noticed few new things.
For instance two instead of three hydraulic systems.

Is this another way to loose some weight or simply a following trend? Boeing 787 is without bleed air system completely relying on electric even for pressurization. V.S.S. (very simple and smart) but it could be "Very Simply Stupid if you loose your hydraulic redundancy. Concorde started with Green.Yellow and Blue many years ago.


Any comment guys?
ZAGORFLY is offline  
Old 27th Aug 2006, 11:33
  #152 (permalink)  
Paxing All Over The World
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hertfordshire, UK.
Age: 67
Posts: 10,126
Received 58 Likes on 48 Posts

Although I only dip into matters concerning this a/c, I know that this question has been asked and answered several times in the past year. On closer inspection of the thread, this question was asked/answered on 3rd August. the post number is #104. So please use the Search function.
PAXboy is offline  
Old 28th Aug 2006, 22:05
  #153 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 359
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A380

Does anyone have a copy of the flight plan of the A380 F-WXXL that flew up towards the north pole on Saturday 26 August and back south through Scottish and London FIRs?

If so could you post it here or send via PM?

Cheers

VL
VectorLine is offline  
Old 29th Aug 2006, 22:50
  #154 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fairly close to the colonial capitol
Age: 55
Posts: 1,693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Aborted A380 test flight due to sensor glitch

Airbus aborts test flight of superjumbo
Reuters


London: Airbus aborted a test flight of the A380 superjumbo from France to Tunisia yesterday after a sensor indicated a possible problem with the doors enclosing the main landing gear, the planemaker said.

"The sensor sensed a mismatch in the position of the main landing gear doors," a spokeswoman said. "It happened shortly after take-off."

The plane flew back to Toulouse and landed without incident, she said.

A spokeswoman for landing gear supplier Goodrich said the incident did not involve the landing gear itself. Airbus has five of the $300-million planes in flight testing. They have made more than 580 flights and logged over 1,800 hours in the air.

Parent company EADS revealed in June that complications in wiring the mammoth planes were expected to delay deliveries scheduled for the next three years.

The news shook EADS shares and triggered a management shake-up. The first A380 is still scheduled for delivery to Singapore Airlines late this year.

This is all the AP got:

PARIS - An Airbus A380 superjumbo test flight heading from France to the North African desert was cut short today as a precaution, the plane manufacturer said.

The jet was scheduled to fly to the airport of Tozeur-Nefta in southern Tunisia, but the pilot returned to the plane's base in Toulouse, France, soon after takeoff because of a "minor incident," said Airbus spokeswoman Anne Galabert. She declined to elaborate.

Galabert said the shortened flight was a "non-event" that received attention only because journalists waiting in Tunisia were disappointed when they learned they would not see the world's largest passenger plane.

The decision to turn back was "something that is completely normal in the testing phase," she said, adding that the flight will be rescheduled for a later date.

Five A380s have clocked more than 1,800 hours of test flights, she said.

The A380 program has been under close scrutiny since delays in the long-awaited superjumbo sent stock in parent company European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. tumbling more than 25 percent in June. They also led to a major management reshuffle at the Franco-German company, and customer and investor confidence was rattled.
Goodrich covering their erm, gear, I see.

Airbus is not commenting on this officially.
vapilot2004 is offline  
Old 30th Aug 2006, 11:57
  #155 (permalink)  
Bear Behind
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Yerp
Posts: 350
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well there was me pootling along the road to the Airbus Delivery Centre for a meeting with some of the bods there and low and behold, 4 A380s in formation flew right over my head - one at the front and 3 in a V-formation behind it! That was at about 11 o'clock local. A photo flight, no doubt. Still, a VERY impressive sight!
panda-k-bear is offline  
Old 30th Aug 2006, 12:36
  #156 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Madrid, Spain
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, saw same from edge of runway, incredible. Shame no smoke and rolls though. Still think the Red Arrows have the edge.

Will be a while me thinks before that is seen again.
taffman is offline  
Old 30th Aug 2006, 16:14
  #157 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Rural Virginia
Age: 70
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by vapilot2004
Airbus is not commenting on this officially.
Precautionary A380 turnback delays Tunisia testing
ATI: 290806

Airbus has postponed additional hot-weather tests on one of its A380 aircraft after an undercarriage sensor indication prompted the crew to abandon a flight to Tunisia.

The aircraft, serial number MSN004, returned to Toulouse today around 25min after departure.

It had been heading for the city of Tozeur to perform hot-weather testing. But shortly after take-off the crew received a sensor indication which prevented the main landing gear from retracting.

“Sensors detected a mismatch of information on the [landing gear] doors,” a, spokeswoman from Airbus says, adding that the data meant that the system could not determine whether the doors were open or closed.

“There was no problem with the landing gear itself,” she adds. The indication automatically led the A380’s systems to block retraction of the landing gear and the crew opted to return to Toulouse, where the aircraft landed without incident.

Aircraft MSN004 was the jet which carried out ‘hot and high’ altitude performance testing in Colombia at the beginning of the year. More tests had been due to take place in Tozeur but the spokeswoman says: “These additional tests will be delayed to another day.”

It's now official...

Cheers, y'all.
Mudfoot is offline  
Old 30th Aug 2006, 19:08
  #158 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Scotland
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The photos of today's flypast at Toulouse (the 4 test aircraft A380 MSN 001, MSN 002, MSN 004 and MSN 009) were something else, very impressive.

What will happen to these 4 aircraft once the testing and certification is complete? Will one/two/all of the aircraft become the first passenger-carrying A380s sold or will they be retained as further test/museum items?

Presumably some of them will have flown so many hours in all sorts of conditions that they will have some wear and tear before too long?
fly_high is offline  
Old 1st Sep 2006, 09:07
  #159 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Scotland
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by fly_high
The photos of today's flypast at Toulouse (the 4 test aircraft A380 MSN 001, MSN 002, MSN 004 and MSN 009) were something else, very impressive.

What will happen to these 4 aircraft once the testing and certification is complete? Will one/two/all of the aircraft become the first passenger-carrying A380s sold or will they be retained as further test/museum items?

Presumably some of them will have flown so many hours in all sorts of conditions that they will have some wear and tear before too long?
According to an e-mail I received from Airbus this morning:

Details on the further utilisation of the developmental aircraft will be announced at a later date.

Anybody here have any thoughts on this?
fly_high is offline  
Old 3rd Sep 2006, 20:04
  #160 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: In the Sky
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A380 monday flight plan

Hello,
Does anybody know what's the foreseen flight plan for the first passenger flight? Hope to see it in flight or at least hear it on radio.

Happy landing,

Oli
737oli is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.