Interesting A380 facts

[cowpatz]

Not exactly simulator stuff but as we are all interested in aviation I thought you might be interested in this.
We recently had one of our guys go over to Sydney to fly on the A380.
He had some interesting facts to present on his return.

MTOW (Maximum take off weight) 562 tonnes vs a 747-400 at 397 tonnes

73 m long (3 metres longer than a 747)

Vert fin 24.1 m (7 stories) 5m taller than a 747

Wing span 79.8 m (15 m more than 747 at 64.9m)

Wing area an incredible 845m2 which is 54% more than a 747!!!!!!!
How big is your section?????

Believe it or not it is a group C aeroplane (along with 737's, A320's etc). 747 is group D.

Max landing weight of 386000 kg (almost MTOW for a 747) 747 max ldg weight of 285,750kg

At max landing weight it has a VREF of only 138 kts which is 20 kts slower than a 747 at some 100,000 kg lighter.

It only needs 2010m to land vs a 747 at 2260m at their respective max ldg weights.

ISA + 15 SL takeoff of 2940m (590m less than 747) at MTOW's.

It has a truly amazing wing.

At MTOW it can climb direct to FL350 in 28 min. A 747 can only get to FL310. It will take the 747 about 7 hours and some 3600nm before it can get to FL350. At that time the A380 will have stepped up to FL390. The 747-8I is going to be even worse only just getting to FL 350 after some 9.5 hrs!!!! At that time the A380 will be at FL410. Big weather and economy advantage being up there!

46% less noise footprint than a 747

Other facts

• The most complex engineering project ever undertaken.
• 10,000 bolts hold the 3 main fuselage parts together.
• 8000 to attach each wing.
• APU can provide enough power and heat to supply 800 family homes.
• Cruising at 42,000 ft the cabin alt is only 6000 ft
• Carries 310000 litres of fuel or 248000 kg(equiv of 21 tankers). 747 has 172,000 kg approx.
• RR Trent 900 Engines produce 80,000 lb thrust
• Fan diameter 3.05m or 10 ft.
• Fan turns at max of 3000 RPM. Tip speed Mach 1.3
• Each eng sucks in 1.25 tonnes of air per second.
• 50 to 1 compression ratio
• gas nozzle speed 1600 kmh
• The 70 blades in engines high pressure section rotate at 12,500 rpm on takeoff and each blade produces and incredible 900HP!!!!!
• If you applied the same blade cooling technology to an ice cube you could place it in an oven at 200 degrees C and it would never melt!
• Each engine has 20,000 components and weighs in at 6350 Kg.
• With an aircraft of this size you could only just imagine the amount of electrical wiring involved..some 500 KM worth of wiring looms. This is where it all went wrong for Airbus. They had a problem with their CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) at Hamburg. When the wiring harnesses were laid out it was found that some were too short and others too long....bugger. As the wires cannot be sliced they had to start all over.
• These production setbacks have pushed the projected break even number out from the initial 270 to 420.
• Current orders are for 165.
• 13 are scheduled for delivery in 2008, 25 in 2009 and full annual production of 45 aircraft reached by 2010.

Clever wee Frenchmen!!!!!

[VH-CC1]

thats some pretty cool stats on the bus compared to the 74.

[cowpatz]

It may not be a strong wing but it can otherwise generate some pretty amazing figures.

[ardypilot]

Thanks for posting cowpatz, I love looking through stats like that. Are you a commerical airline pilot by any chance?

By the way, theres a great thread on A.net called 'A380 Vs People Size Comparison Pics' which some of you may find of interest.

[Q300]

Great facts, the A380 is huge, but im still more of a 747 fan

[mailman]

Here's another interesting fact;

- Mailman was at the worlds first public outing of the A380 at the Paris Airshow in 2005

Another interesting fact;

- Mailman saw the first production aircraft (for Singapore Airlines) at Toulouse when going to watch the AB's against Romania



Regards

Mailman

[happytraveller]

Another interesting 'fact'........

check in time for an A380.......considerably more than for a 747
boarding time for an A380......considerably more than for a 747
deplaning time for a A380......considerably more than for a 747
waiting for baggage time for an A380 flight.......unbelievable.

I for one am not looking forward to flying on this thing, probably will have no choice though. Not looking forward to sitting in row 98Z and waiting for the meals to get to me. Give me a Cessna any day.

smooth landings (747 or below).

[mailman]

Those arent facts, they are uninformed assumptions.

Mailman

[scon]

Here is another one,

I was told by a Qantas flight attendant last year on a 767 flight to YSSY, That a 744 takes around 14-15hr to do YSSY-KLAX

where as an A380 will take close on 16hr to do it !!!!!!

[LMerraine]

QUOTE (happytraveller @ Nov 22 2007, 01:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Another interesting 'fact'........

check in time for an A380.......considerably more than for a 747
boarding time for an A380......considerably more than for a 747
deplaning time for a A380......considerably more than for a 747
waiting for baggage time for an A380 flight.......unbelievable.

I for one am not looking forward to flying on this thing, probably will have no choice though. Not looking forward to sitting in row 98Z and waiting for the meals to get to me. Give me a Cessna any day.

smooth landings (747 or below).

With two doors shouldn't the loading and unloading of passengers be quicker than a 747?

I love the 747 and find the 380 ho hum, but when it comes to people putting it down etc. The 380 is getting the same coverage as probably the 747 got on it's entry - too big blah blah blah, ugly - and now most people think it's a nice plane.

Considering the 380 has had to fit into the same time constraints as any other international turn around, I'm not sure how it's going to take that much longer. Remember - they can still get everyone out in 90 seconds.

[cowpatz]

Actually the demonstrated evacuation time for the A380 was quicker than the 747 although not by much.
I fly 747's for a living and maintain that they are still one of the greatest aircraft that anyone could ask to fly. Versatile, proven and forgiving.

Not sure why the A380 should take longer for KLAX-YSSY as the cruise speed is M85 which is the same as a 747...unless Qantas propose to fly them slower for economy.

I sure wouldn't want to be a passenger on one arriving into LAX. It is bad enough trying to get thru Immigration and customs when in a 747 load worths of passengers never mind adding on a few hundred more.

It might be ugly, and I am certainly not a fan of Airbus aircraft or their fundamental operational philosophy, but you sure can't help but be impressed with the stats of this amazing machine

[Charl]

It's a next-gen aircraft so you'd expect it to be better than a 747, which it is in many respects.
Think it may simply be a question of national pride that it's actually bigger than a 747.
You do have to hope that the French/German CAD snafu was limited only to the wiring loom.
That delay may well have consigned the aircraft to the Concorde style of economic write-off.

[NZ06AR]

All these Facts are real nice and all but one thing is missing......

IT IS GOD DAM UGLY!!!!

"If it ain't Boeing I ain't Going"

[LMerraine]

Yes, I tend to agree, I don't think it will be as recognized as a 747 for a few years yet.