Thursday April 28, 2005

Airbus A380 completes first flight

heraldsun.news.com.au

The Airbus A380, the biggest airliner ever built, completed a momentous maiden flight last night, winning praise from one of the pilots as a "magnificent machine" and opening a new era in aviation history. The mammoth long-haul airliner, which can carry between 550 and 840 passengers, is due to enter commercial service in mid-2006, debuting with Singapore Airlines.

Tens of thousands of spectators cheered as the A380 double-decker touched down at 2.23pm (11.23pm AEST) at Toulouse-Blagnac airport in southwestern France after a successful flight of three hours and 54 minutes.

Toulouse is the home of Airbus Industrie.

The Airbus prototype took off and landed on runway 32, dubbed the Concorde, from where the world's only supersonic jetliner made its maiden flight in 1969. The applause rippled across Europe, as political leaders hailed the achievement as a milestone that proves the might of European unity.

Airbus, owned 80 per cent by EADS 20 per cent by BAE Systems of Britain, is banking on the A380 to be the world's most profitable plane, with a 15-20 per cent lower operating cost per seat.

At takeoff, the prototype plane weighed 421 tonnes, the heaviest civil airliner to date, the company said. Its maximum takeoff weight is 560 tonnes.

The company baptised its 21st flagship the A380 for two reasons: the number "eight" suggests the double-decker feature and also is considered a lucky number in Asia, where Airbus sees its fortunes growing the most.

(2005-04-28 07:34:08 SGT) [Tech] Permalink

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