panda is that local or GMT?

WOWW!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I have to admit it... one of the most moving moments in my life. After one hous waiting under the warm Toulouse morning sun, surrounded by part of the now estimated 60000 spectators (not including the 17000 Airbus employees in Toulouse), when I heard her engines come into action and right in front of my eyes saw her left off as the thousands of people broke out in a simultaneous and moving round of applause (and me snapping some 28 photos in a about a minute)... I admit a tear came to my eye.

As I'm sure you heard, take off (from time when brakes were released) took 25 seconds (which appears to have suprised both experts and Airbus itself, who had expected it to be a little longer). Flew north west, then headed along the northern ridge of the Pyrenees. Now probably over the Atlantic. Undercarriage retracted after about 25 minutes. Crew reported all as normal and admitted to be feeling quite happy. ETA of arrival back at Toulouse Blagnac currently 14:30 local time (GMT+2).

And, I also admit, while I kept it rather silent, I have had my doubts about weather I liked the 380 for her looks, but as she lifted off and entered her true environment (the blue sky), she looked quite impressive, I may even dare to say graceful, yet that may just be becuase how extatic I felt.

Good luck A380...

To Flyboy - that's local (I'm one of the lucky ones to be seeing it in front of me - thank-you Airbus!). Crew due to disembark at 14.30.

Pilot speaking live on Sky News......says take-off was perfect!

How come almost the entire flighttest crew is French? There must surely be british and german flighttest pilots able to do the job.. or is it due to the french regarding Airbus as being a french concept/company and therefore must have only french pilots for the first flight?

"Pilot speaking live on Sky News......says take-off was perfect!"

Has there ever been an instance where I first flight test pilot has been quoted as saying anything else!?

Not trying to 'dis' the mighty beast but these sort of quotes are about as insightful as sex education in a convent school!

Jetavia,

I'm really sure Airbus didn't think... "Oh wee are ze Franch companiee zo wee must ony use zee Franch test pilots".

I suppose they just they just who picked who they considered best for the first test flight. I know there is definitely a Spaniard on board, and possible a German and British person. Test pilot and co pilot are French though.

Jetavia I think that a British pilot is due to take the baby up for its second flight

According to the airbus-website there are 4 flight engineers on board, two from france, one from spain (vice president flight test division) and one from germany.

Saw take-off on the evening news, bit like a larger 747.

For me too slow and too big, not a bar on the Concorde.

Incidentally, 2 pilots to fly it but for goodness sake how many cabin crew will it need for safety and customer service? Especially with 800 pax !!?

Right. The flight test engineer in charge of today's flight, and actually on board the aircraft, is from Spain. His name is Fernando Alonso (like the, also spaniard, F1 driver winner of the last GPs) and in addition, he is the Vice President of the Flight Test Department in Airbus.

Well, when it comes to the subsidies Airbus has several nationalities :} :O :E Then it's French :hmm:

Undercarriage of te A380 will be produced in the US.

Guess where u/c of BOEING'S Dreamliner 787 is produced?












In France.......

Regards

Boeing have spent years dissing this a/c.

Its now up, its bigger and better. I wonder if the same will be said of the A350. They are dissing that already, lets see what happens.

Anything with Welsh wings on it IS A WINNER!!!:ok:

Great technology accomplishment --- but I still can't get excited about flying in an airplane with 800 people --- the screening line, the baggage stowage, the check-in. Not for me.

It will be like queing for an FA cup final!:D

FA Cup?
 

Not if you support Chelsea......

I know it may not be as spectacular as Concorde, but in terms of an engineering endeavour I was very impressed. I always visualised a lumbering, clumsy takeoff, but in reality it was pretty spritely, completely different to how I imagined.

The British test pilot (not on the first flight crew) was given a vox interview on Sky and I actually felt sorry for him that he was watching rather than doing this morning.

Looks like air to air imagtes coming up on the airbus live stream link.

I always visualised a lumbering, clumsy takeoff, but in reality it was pretty spritely, completely different to how I imagined.


4-5 hours worth of fuel, no pax and only 20 tons of test gear.

Plus a lot of water ballast...

But as I understand, the engines are also de-rated at present, they will only be rated to their design thrust later in the test program.

And I think they would have more than 1 hours fuel continegncy for the 4 hour test flight, more like 6-8 hours FOB?

I wonder if the Internet had existed how many people would have been discussing the latest visit to the hardware shop by the Wright brothers, "You want to do what!! with cloth, wood and sting?, That will never work".

Besides, always like the saying, you put enough power behind something, you can guarantee it will fly.

I honestly don't know what the big commotion is about whether or not this thing would fly, and especially comments from the Boeing camps, the whole US - Europe thing is honestly just stupid. If you take all that BS out of the equation, it is a step forward, great that it is flying, and it is an amazing engineering feat. Mind you probably not that amazing when you really think about it as there are much larger planes flying. Ok, it has two decks, but is it really that radically different? If you are thinking that it is radically different, I would like to ask what you think makes it radically different to the other aircraft that are flying today? If it had been designed to carry passengers in the wing, then yeah, I think that I would have reservations that it would fly as it is expected.

I am however a little afraid of composites in the manufacture of aircraft, but then again, the company who built the first metal airframe probably coped the same flack. I guess time will tell.

Anyhow, my congratulations to the engineering team, construction and the rest of the Airbus team, where ever you are. Think you should be proud of your achievement, whether you are French, Bristish, Spanish, German or Martian.

747FOCAL, you have been VERY quiet, anything wrong………oops silly me, I forgot, it’s not a boeing………:p

Sky News journo interviewing British test pilot just before first take off:

"I understand one of the pilots has a background in acrobatics, I don't expect we'll see much of that today?"

British TP: "Er, no...."

Where do they get these people?

Well done Airbus, now produce a stretched version that will look right.

Raggyman,

I think it's just the sheer scale of it. Those of us outside of the profession tend to be awed first and think of the four forces later, whereas I expect most aviation professionals would look at the A380 with a more practiced eye.

It's just nice to be excited about something this, well, cool!

Just watched the Sky News report again and the reporter said
Then she corrected herself to say Airbus.

The only word I can find to discribe the take off is awsome. Simply awsome.

wub - Yeah, it is very painful. I often wonder where these News Channels get their presenters from. Was worse during the Tsunami... was half expecting a comment along the lines of, "So it was a wave bigger than what you would normally get on the coast?"

Anyhow, always best to mute the sound and make up your own commentary, you would probably come out the other side alot more informed than the dribble they carry on with.

Any Australians would know Roy and HG, wonder how they would have covered it. Definitely would have been interesting.

I'm sure Boeing were very impressed too.

Weren't they FOCAL?

JamesT73J - Yeah, the scale of it is pretty amazing. I noticed from the photo how much dust was stired up just as it is taking off. Definitely going to be interesting if you are a plane taking off after it, they might have to wait a while for the dust to settle, especially in a place that has just gone through a drought.

Just for interest, does a 747 stir up as much dust? Admittedly it isn't alot of dust, but then again is TLS a wet place?

Airbus site says took off at 421T (v MTOW 560T) - and says that is highest civil airliner weight (Boeing quotes -400 at 397T)

the in flight video updates from chase aircraft and air to air shots are great on sky news

great publicity set up by airbus udating as we go along

this must be the most media covered aircraft's first flight , ever in the history of aviation... ( or in europe anyway )and the threads of will it ...wont it ,get off the ground

cant wait to see the fly past and the landing to see if it as uneventfull and smooth as first take off

Air to Air stream just finished, something like 40 minutes of video, saw the undercarriage retract and a few maneuvers with flaps extended before stream finished.

Did they roll it yet?

Boeing impressed a lot of folks when they did that with the 707... :O

@airship

Yes, that's why the video stream finished. Top secret.

:cool:

...how about a cuban eight or a victory roll....!!!!!!

Must run - got to get back to my pitch cos she's coming in any time in the next 20 minutes or so!

Check out the video at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4488361.stm

Can't wait to see the fly by>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Here she comes>>>>>>>>>>>

Here she comes>>>>>>>>>>>

Here she comes>>>>>>>>>>>

Just seen the news on the 1 o'clock news.

It could have 840 seats!

Damn :ok: