Cockpit

Airbus made the cockpit layout, procedures and handling characteristics similar to those of other Airbus aircraft to reduce crew training costs. Accordingly, the A380 features an improved glass cockpit, and fly-by-wire flight controls linked to side-sticks.

The improved cockpit displays feature eight 15-by-20 cm (6-by-8-inch) liquid crystal displays, all of which are physically identical and interchangeable. These comprise two Primary Flight Displays, two navigation displays, one engine parameter display, one system display and two Multi-Function Displays. These MFDs are new with the A380, and provide an easy-to-use interface to the flight management system—replacing three multifunction control and display units. They include QWERTY keyboards and trackballs, interfacing with a graphical "point-and-click" display navigation system. Flight Deck Specifications Airbus S.A.S.

Engines Either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7200 turbofans may power the A380. Both are derived from predecessors available on the Boeing 777. The Trent 900 is the scaled version of the Trent 800 but incorporating sweptback fan and counter-rotating spools of the stillborn Trent 8107.Trent 900 Specifications Rolls-Royce The GP7200 has GE90 derived core and PW4090 derived fan and low-pressure turbo-machinery.GP7200 Specifications Engine Alliance The Trent 900, the launch engine, initially gained most sales. However, the Engine Alliance GP7201 sales have grown, and now roughly match those of the Trent 900.

Technological features

The new material GLARE (GLAss-REinforced fibre metal laminate) is used in the upper fuselage and on the stabilizers' leading edges. This aluminium-glass-fibre laminate is lighter and has better corrosion and impact resistance than conventional aluminium alloys used in aviation. Unlike earlier composite materials, it can be repaired using conventional aluminium repair techniques.Aerospace Technology - Airbus A380

Carbon-fibre reinforced plastics, glass-fibre reinforced plastic and quartz-fibre reinforced plastic are also used extensively in wings, fuselage sections and on doors. The A380 is the first time that carbon fibre has been used to make the central wing box of a commercial airliner. Thermoplastics are used in the leading edges of the slats.

Newer weldable aluminium alloys are also used. This enables the widespread use of laser welding manufacturing techniques - eliminating rows of rivets and resulting in a lighter, stronger structure.

Advanced avionics architecture

Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA)

IMA, first used in advanced military aircraft such as F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon, is the main avionics architecture. It is based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) design. Many previous dedicated single-purpose avionics computers are replaced by dedicated software housed in onboard processor modules and servers. This cuts the number of parts as well as providing increased flexibility without resorting to customised avionics. This reduces costs, and benefits from the cheap, commercially available computing power.

Avionics Full Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) / ARINC 664

The avionics data communication networks employed is switched-Ethernet based AFDX following the ARINC 664 specifications. Together with IMA, the A380 avionics is very highly networked. The data networks are switched full-duplexed star-topology and based on 100baseTX fast-Ethernet. This reduces wires required as well as eliminating latency. The standard is based on widely approved and adopted standards like Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) and UDP/IP (Internet Protocols). Test Cards for the A380 Charlotte Adams, Aviation Today, July 1 2002

Network Systems Server (NSS)

The NSS is the heart of A380 paperless cockpit. It eliminates the bulky manuals and charts traditionally carried by the pilots. The NSS has enough inbuilt robustness to do away with onboard backup paper documents. The A380's network and server system stores data and offers electronic documentation, providing a required equipment list, navigation charts, performance calculations, and an aircraft logbook. All will be accessible to the pilot from two additional 27 cm (11 inch) diagonal LCDs. Each is controlled by its own keyboard and control cursor device mounted in the foldable table in front of each pilot.

Power-by-wire flight controls

Power-by-wire flight controls actuators are used for the first time in civil service. They function as ultimate flight control backups for the A380. In some conditions they help the primary flight controls during certain manoeuvres. They have self-contained hydraulic and electrical power supplies. They are used as electro-hydrostatic actuators (EHA); used in the aileron and elevator and as electrical backup hydrostatic actuators (EBHA) for the rudder and some spoilers.'More Electric' Aircraft Charlotte Adams, Aviation Today, October 1 2001

350 bar (35 MPa) hydraulic system

This is an improvement over the typical 207 bar (20.7 MPa or 3,000 psi) system found in other commercial aircraft since the DC4 Skymaster in 1942. First used in military aircraft, the use of a higher pressure reduces the size of pipelines, actuators and other components for overall weight reduction. The 350 bar (35 MPa or 5,080 psi) pressure is generated by 8 de-clutchable hydraulic pumps. Pipelines are typically made from titanium and the system features both fuel and air-cooled heat exchangers. The hydraulics system architecture also differs significantly from other airliners. Self-contained electrically-powered hydraulic power packs, instead of secondary hydraulic system, are the backups for the primary systems. This saves weight and reduces maintenance.Messier-Dowty hands over first A380 nose landing gear to airbus Messier-Dowty, January 9 2004

Electrical generation

The A380 uses four 150 kVA variable-frequency generators eliminating the constant speed drives for better reliability. The A380 uses aluminium power cables instead of copper for greater weight savings due to the number of cables used for aircraft of this size and complexity. The electrical power system is fully computerized and many contactors and breakers have been replaced by solid-state devices for better performance and increased reliability.

LED and High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting

The A380 features a bulbless illumination system. LEDs are employed in the cabin, cockpit, cargo and other fuselage areas. The cabin lighting features programmable multi-spectral LEDs capable of simulating the cabin ambience illumination from daylight to night and various shades in between. HID lighting is used externally giving brighter, whiter and better quality lights. The two technologies used are far superior to the incandescent light bulb in terms of brightness and service life.Goodrich softens A380 landings Kirby J. Harrison, Aviation International News, February 24, 2004

Electrical thrust reversers

Thrust reversers are one of the items that are often faulty in service. The A380 was initially planned to do away with thrust reversers as it has more than enough braking capacity. The FAA disagreed and Airbus elected to fit the 2 inboard engines with them. The A380 features electrically actuated thrust reversers. This gives better reliability than their pneumatic or hydraulic equivalents besides saving considerable weight.Certification tests completed for the A380's GP7200 thrust reverser, Aircelle Additionally, this reduces the amount of debris blown up during landing, as only the inner two engines go into reverse.

Amenities

Initial publicity stressed the A380's comfort and space, which offers room for such installations as relaxation areas, bars, duty-free shops, and beauty salons. The A380 customer most likely to use this configuration is Virgin Atlantic Airways, which has a bar in Business Class on its aircraft, and has announced plans to include casinos on its A380s.

Given the history of the airline industry, the A380 will significantly expand the improvements that the 747 made — more seats and lower seat-distance costs — while providing wider seats and better amenities. With 555 passengers, the A380 represents a 35% increase over the 747-400 in standard three-class configuration, along with a nearly 50% larger cabin volume — meaning much more space per passenger. If, however, the plane is ordered in an all-economy-class configuration, it can hold up to 853 passengers, its maximum certified carrying capacity.Airbus Evacuates 873 People From A380 in 80 Seconds in Test Andrea Rothman, Bloomberg, March 26 2006

Some airports have planned terminal reconfigurations to facilitate loading and unloading with the A380's double-decker design. Heathrow has spent GBP 105 million on a gantry that can unload and load on 2 decks, and was used when the airliner recently landed at the airport."Airbus A380 jet lands at Heathrow." BBC Business News Online. May 18 2006.

Construction

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During construction, the front and rear sections of the fuselage are loaded on an Airbus RORO ship, Ville de Bordeaux, in Hamburg in northern Germany, whence they are shipped to the United Kingdom. There the huge wings, which are manufactured at Filton in Bristol and Broughton in north Wales, are transported by barge to Mostyn docks, where the ship adds them to its cargo. In Saint-Nazaire in western France, the ship trades the fuselage sections from Hamburg for larger, assembled sections, some of which include the nose. The ship unloads in Bordeaux. Afterwards, the ship picks up the belly and tail sections by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA in Cadiz in southern Spain, and delivers them to Bordeaux. Doors were specially made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore in India.

From there, the A380 parts are transported by barge to Langon, and by road to an assembly hall in Toulouse in France. New wider roads, extra canal systems and barges were developed to deliver the massive A380 parts. After assembly, the aircraft are flown to Hamburg to be furnished and painted. Final assembly began in 2004, with first aircraft (MSN001) displayed in January 2005.

Orders

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Sixteen airlines have ordered the A380 as of April 6 2006 including an order from AIG's aircraft leasing unit, ILFC. Currently, A380 orders stand at 159, including 27 freighter models. Break-even is estimated to be at 250 to 300 units. Former Airbus CEO Noël Forgeard stated he expects to sell 750 of the aircraft. As of 2006, the unit cost of the A380 is States dollar|US$" target="_blank" >^* 295 million. Airbus A380 News, URL accessed 11 June 2006 Orders & Deliveries to 30 June

Air FranceChina Southern AirlinesEmiratesEtihad AirwaysFedExILFCKingfisher AirlinesKorean AirLufthansaMalaysia AirlinesQantasQatar AirwaysSingapore AirlinesThai Airways InternationalUPSVirgin Atlantic

Airline	Entry into service	Type			Engine
		A380-800	A380-800F	Options	EA	RR
2007	10		4	*
2007	5				*
2007"Late landing for Emirates' A380 jets." Al Deen, M. E. Gulf News. April 5 2006."Airbus A380 Freighter Delayed as Emirates Switches Orders to Passenger Variant." Kingsley-Jones, M. Flight International. May 16 2006.	43			*
2008	4				*
2009		10	10	*
	5	5		4
2010	5
2008	5		3	*
2008	15		10		*
2007	6				*
2007	12		10		*
2009	2		2
2007	10		15		*
	6
2009		10	10
2008	6		6		*
Sub-totals		134	25	70	72	58
Total		159			130

Delivery

Airbus has not publicly announced delivery dates, though they notified airlines in June 2005 that delivery would be delayed by up to six months, which meant Singapore Airlines would receive the first A380 aircraft in the last quarter of 2006, with Qantas getting its first delivery in April 2007 and Emirates receiving aircraft before 2008. A subsequent announcement in June 2006 warned that the initial rate of deliveries would be slower than anticipated, leading to further delays for some airlines, although this would not affect the first production models, already built, flown and well into fitout. Delays in testing and certification of full passenger loads in flight mean that Singapore airlines will not receive its first A380 until the final few days of 2006 or very early in 2007.

Singapore Airlines will use the plane on its Sydney and Singapore routes from late 2006 in a 485 passenger configuration. Subsequent routes by Singapore Airlines may include the Singapore - San Francisco route via Hong Kong, as well as direct flights to Paris and Frankfurt. Qantas has also announced it will use the A380 on its Los Angeles to Sydney to Melbourne route in a 501 seat configuration. Air France's order will arrive in 2007 and be used on the Paris to Montreal and New York routes.

On 13 June 2006 Airbus announced in a press release that the A380 delivery schedule will undergo an additional "shift of six to seven months due to production ramp up issues." Although the first aircraft will be delivered before the end of 2006, 2007 deliveries will be limited to only 9 aircraft. Overall the initial (pre-2005) plan was to deliver about 120 A380s by the end of 2009; this was reduced to around 90-100 by the first delay, and is now cut to a plan for roughly 70-80 deliveries by 2009. This caused a 26% drop in the share price of Airbus's parent, EADS, as shareholders speculated on the financial burden this puts on the organization. It also affected the put valuation given to BAE Systems' 20% share. [http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1253017&source=RNS

Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas are reported to be angry at the delays and are considering compensation." On June 20 and June 21 2006, Air Transport World reported Malaysia Airlines and ILFC were investigating cancelling their orders for the aircraft in the wake of the production delays.""

Technical concerns

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Several technical concerns about the A380 have arisen, fuelling criticism of the aircraft and its safety. As type certificate requirements for A380 are laid down by both EASA and FAA, Airbus has said that it will address these concerns as required.

Cabin pressurization

Joseph Mangan, a former employee of TTTech, has claimed the microprocessors produced by TTTech for the A380 are severely flawed."A380 jet flawed, fired worker alleges." Pae, P. The Seattle Times. October 2 2005. The microchips control the A380's cabin-pressurization system; Mangan has stated that the combination of TTTech's microprocessor and a new architecture of valves could cause the A380 to undergo rapid decompression. This sudden drop in cabin pressure could cause the flight crew to lose consciousness and pose a major hurdle to safe flight.

This allegation has been strongly rejected by both TTTech"TTTech defends against false allegations. These allegations were made by a dismissed former employee one year ago and have been proved to be wrong." Official TTTech press release. October 6, 2005. and EADS. Additionally, Boeing has said they are unaware of any problems with TTTech's chips."A Skeptic Under Pressure." Pae, P. The Los Angeles Times. September 27 2005. An Austrian court has fined Mr. Mangan for violating the court's preliminary injunction regarding discussion of his allegation pending court cases.

Ground operations

Early critics claimed that the A380 would damage taxiways and other airport surfaces. However, the pressure exerted by its wheels is lower than that of a 747 because the A380 has more wheels than the 747 (22 wheels in the A380 compared to 18 wheels in the 747). Airbus tested this using a special ballasted rig, designed to replicate the landing gear of the A380. The rig, weighing 540 tonnes (595 short tons), was towed up and down at Airbus' facilities at Toulouse and after each pass the ground was carefully inspected.

The A380, having a longer wingspan than a 747, will require the repositioning of taxiways so as to allow two of these aircraft to maintain safety distances when passing each other on adjacent runways and taxiways. Current FAA regulations for Group 6 aircraft (including the A380) require 60 metre (200 foot) wide runways while the large majority of the airports they are expected to operate from have 45 metre (150 foot) wide runways.

As of late 2005 there are concerns that the jet blast from the A380's engines could be dangerous to ground vehicles and airport terminal buildings, as more thrust is required to move its greater mass (590 t compared to 412.8 t for a 747). The American FAA has established a commission"Airbus A380 faces dispute with US aviation officials - report." Kjetland, R. Forbes. October 5 2005. to determine if new safety regulations seem necessary, and will make appropriate recommendations to the ICAO. According to The Wall Street Journal 'The debate is supposed to be entirely about safety, but industry officials and even some participants acknowledge that, at the very least, an overlay of diplomatic and trade tensions complicates matters.' The FAA commission has stated they will not enact unilateral safeguards for the A380, only those imposed by the ICAO."FAA: Wake Turbulence Rules May Have To Be Rewritten." Aero-News.net. October 7 2005.

Wake turbulence

All aircraft produce wingtip vortices during flight, contributing to wake turbulence, which are strongest during flight envelopes involving high thrust, high angles of attack, and under-clean configurations, such as departures. Many airliners already in service produce extremely large and powerful wakes, which are dangerous to lighter following aircraft. Airspeed, weight, wingspan, and flap and gear deployment all affect the strength of these vortices, which is "proportional to aircraft weight and inversely to aircraft speed and wing span"."Proceedings of the 11^th Conference on Aviation, Range and Aerospace Meteorology, Hyannis, MA 2004." Cole, R. E. and Winkler, S. MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Aircraft operating below 10,000 feet are limited to 460 km/h (250 knots), and until just before landing are in a clean configuration (flaps and gear retracted). Weight and wingspan are therefore the primary factors affecting vortex strength. The A380, at 560,000 kg, is 36% heavier than the 747-400ER's 412,000 kg747 specifications." Boeing Commercial Airplanes., but its 79.8 m span is 24% wider than the 747ER's 64.4 m. At weights equal to the 747, the A380 will therefore produce weaker vortices. However, at Maximum Take-Off Weight, notwithstanding other aerodynamic improvements, which Airbus claims to have implemented"Wake Vortices of the Airbus A380 and its effect on buildings in Neuenfelde and the vicinity of the Hamburg-Finkenwerder factory airfield." Die Arp-Schnitger-Orgel., the turbulence will be stronger.

Modern aerodynamics can potentially reduce the effect. Research in the 1970s demonstrated that using wingtip vortex control concepts such as winglets, while reducing cruise vortices and drag, did not have a significant effect on vortex strength during the landing phase. Though it is not clear whether wingtip fences were ever tested, this research (and more recent studies) did identify several promising alternatives."Concept to Reality: Wake-Vortex Hazard." Langevin, G. S. National Aeronautics & Space Administration. October 17, 2003.

In 2005 ICAO recommended that operational separation criteria for the A380 be substantially greater than for the 747 because “Flight test data has raised concerns about horizontal and vertical wake turbulence spacing criteria for approach, landing, departure and en route A380 operations.” and “Analysis indicates that A380 wake vortices will descend further and be significantly stronger at 1,000 feet below the generation altitude than for other aircraft in the heavy wake turbulence category.” Greater aircraft separation on approach would reduce the frequency of aircraft landings, which would reduce the efficiency of the aircraft. Further flight testing will be required in order to determine whether the vortices produced are substantially larger than existing aircraft vortices.

Orders connected to non-aviation business

Following the tsunami disaster in December 2004, Airbus gained an order from Thai Airways International to buy 6 A380s, reportedly as part of a trade deal in exchange for Thailand avoiding EU fishing tariffs. Although unconfirmed, the story brought outrage from several charities, including Oxfam, who described the tariffs as "criminal"."Tsunami-hit Thais told: Buy six planes or face EU tariffs." Nelson, F. The Scotsman. January 19 2005.

Wing strength

During the destructive wing strength certification test, the test wing of the A380 failed to meet the certification requirements. The test wing buckled somewhere between the inboard and outboard engine at 147% of limit load. Limit load is the maximum load expected to occur during operations in the design life of an aircraft. For strength certification, an aircraft structure must not fail below 150% of limit load. This means that the test wing failed below its design load. Airbus initially indicated that the test article represented an early design and that the requirements would be met by analysis of results and changes already made. Subsequently, however, Airbus announced that modifications adding 30kg to the design would be made to the wing to provide the required strength.

Trivia

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• The fictional airplane (the E-474) in the 2005 film Flightplan clearly resembles an A380 as far as its general arrangement of full length upper and lower passenger decks and four turbofan engines. The name is obviously derived from the Boeing 747.

Specifications

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(800F Freighter in brown)

General characteristics

• Flight crew: 2
• Capacity: 555 in 3 classes or 853 passengers in 1 class, with up to 66.4 tonnes (146,400 lb) of cargo in 38 LD3s or 13 pallets
  • 152.4 tonnes (336,000 lb) of cargo (158 t option)
• Powerplant: 4×311 kN (70,000 lb_f) turbofans. Either Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7200
  • 4×340 kN (76,500 lb_f)

Dimensions

• Length: 73 m (239 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 79.8 m (261 ft 10 in )
• Height: 24.1 m (79 ft 1 in )
• Wing area: 845 m² (9,100 ft²)

Weights and fuel capacity

• Typical Operating Empty Weight: 276,800 kg (610,200 lb)
  • 252,200 kg (556,000 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: 560,000 kg (1,235,000 lb)
  • 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)
• Maximum fuel: 310,000 litres (81,890 US gal)
  • 310,000 l (352,000 l option)

Performance

• Normal cruise speed: 0.85 Mach (approx 1050 km/h, 647 mph, 562 kt)
• Maximum cruise speed: 0.89 Mach
• Range: 15,000 km (8,000 nmi)
  • 10,400 km (5,600 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 13,100 m (43,000 ft)

References

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See also

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Media

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External links

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• Official A380 site
  • Official A380 specifications
  • The Airbus A380 Navigator
• Airbusa380.com - Airbus A380
• Airliners.net - Airbus A380
• Aircraft-Info.net - Airbus A380
• Airbus and WTO
• How the Airbus A380 Works
• An article on the A380 at Aerospaceweb.org
• An article on the A380 at Aerospace-Techonology.com
• Airbus North America site
• An A380 production list at Plane-spotters.net
• EADS' A380 Website

Photos

• A380 pictures at MyAviation.net
• A380 Pictures on Airliners.net
• Photo Gallery of the A380 in flight
• Photo Gallery of the A380 adventure (In French)
• The A380 at the Paris Air Show
• Airbus A380 Google Image Search Results
• A380 pictures at Planepictures.net
• Airbus A380 Photo Picture Collection

Press kits devoted to the A380

• Supplement of Flightglobal devoted to A380 (file pdf of 1,58 Mo)
• A File illustrated on the A380
• File of Release devoted to the first flight of A380 (In French)

Videos

• A 380 video on flight
• First flight video (GFDL CC-BY-SA)
• RTÉ News report on the A380 reveal (REAL video)

Technical data

• Technical file of the A380 from FlightGlobal(file pdf of 11,3 Mo)

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