A380 - First Commercial Flight

[grant]

I was suprised thisn't was picked up in a thread earlier.

Singapore Airlines' SQ380 flew into Sydney last Thursday at 5.24pm local time at the end of the first worldwide commercial flight of the Airbus A380. Tall as a 7 storey building and 73 metres long, the plane can fly with as many as 853 passengers on board, though there were only 450 paying passengers for the maiden flight..


Grant


Photos from the Sydney Morning Herald Travel website - Taken by Dallas Kilponen

1st photo - Departing from Singapore (Changi) Airport
2nd photo - On final approach to Runway 34 Left at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport
3rd photo - Touchdown back wheels
4th photo - Touchdown all wheels

 

[DPD1]

I don't know... It's just scary big. The size of the vertical is ridiculous.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[grant]

Yeah - it's a massive plane.
They had to double the width of the runways to 300 feet to accomodate it.
And I am fairly sure it would have used a large % of the 13000 feet length of Rwy 34L to pull up.

Unfortunately I was working at the time and missed the event.

Qantas has 20 A380's on order for delivery between 2008 and 2015, mainly for long haul Asia, US and Europe routes
It also has a parallel order with Boeing for up to 115 B787 Dreamliner aircraft, which will enable the airline to introduce new routes for flights such as Sydney - Dallas Fort Worth non stop (over 8000 nautical miles)


Grant

 

[AndrewC75]

And I am fairly sure it would have used a large % of the 13000 feet length of Rwy 34L to pull up.

Actually, probalby not. Those huge wings provide an incredible amount of lift. The A380 is designed to be able to use any runway that a 747 can use and the runway required at max take-off weight is appox 9200', so if the maiden flight was at max take-off weight, there was 3800' to spare, or nearly 1/3 of the runway remaining.

 

[kfcrosby]

Actually, probalby not. Those huge wings provide an incredible amount of lift. The A380 is designed to be able to use any runway that a 747 can use and the runway required at max take-off weight is appox 9200', so if the maiden flight was at max take-off weight, there was 3800' to spare, or nearly 1/3 of the runway remaining.

Agreed

When FedEx was going to buy these planes for cargo, they were going to use 18/36C here in Memphis which is 11120'

 

[grant]

Here is the BBC coverage of the flight

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/...tm&news=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&asb=1


Grant

 

[AZScanner]

Wow that thing is huge...

Any idea when the plane will be flying in the US? I'd like to head out to LAX and get a first hand look. You locals will know the spot - right across the street from the in-n-out off of sepulveda blvd - great place to do some plane spotting, they come in right over your head so close you'd swear you could just reach up and touch the wheels. Sweeeeeet...

-AZ

 

[mjw357]

Yeah - it's a massive plane.
They had to double the width of the runways to 300 feet to accomodate it.

I think you are thinking of the taxiway and ramp areas (wing clearances to buildings and such). That is the snag most airports are running into with these super-jumbo-jets. Not much room to park them.

 

[kfcrosby]

I think you are thinking of the taxiway and ramp areas (wing clearances to buildings and such). That is the snag most airports are running into with these super-jumbo-jets. Not much room to park them.

The extended width construction work on the runways here in Memphis was to prevent FOD (foreign object debris) from entering the engines. Not to mention the hangars and additional parking areas.

 

[Airfire]

The aircraft is truly a marvel of engineering. For those interested here's a shot of the cockpit. Taken on the round robin flight out of JFK earlier this yearin March. We're at Flight Level 350 about Mach .85 approaching SLATN intersection before heading back for the low pass at JFK.

Jim

 

[shaft]

Nice pic of the cockpit. The camera on the tail is a good addition to see.

 

[kfcrosby]

Very Cool !

 

[grant]

I finally saw the Singapore A-380 in the flesh on final approach to Sydney's Runway 16R last week one early morning while i was driving home from work.

I picked it up in the distance at about 8nm by its distinctive look and lost it as it passed over my head at about 1500 feet (5nm) while i was in traffic. That is one big momma of a plane especially looking from underneath it (which was my last glimpse out of the window).

At the moment it is flying Singapore - Sydney - Singapore but in a couple of months it is slated to start on the Sydney-Singapore-London run.

 

[bmacc]

Meh; if I wanted to see a whale, I would go to the beach...

I still can't get past the fact that the thing is just so ugly... and it is made for such a niche market... I don't think it's as much of a world-changing airplane as people make it out to be.

Hey, q uick question though; how does it compare (size) to the Antonov AN-225 ?

 

[Michael-SATX]

Baseball, Apple-Pie and Boeing All the Way !!!

I agree with this Super Jumbo Jet being aimed at a VERY niche market.
Boeing's research has indicated that passengers want convenience and time savings.
I read that just to load passengers and luggage takes about 2-1/2 hours before
flight and then just as long on the un-boarding end when the plane has reached
it's destination !!! Ouch !!! Who wants to "ADD" almost 5 hours to the flying process ?
I say Boeing has the right idea with their 787 Dreamliners - way more practical and efficient to operate and TIME savings. Currently Boeing still produced the 747-400F
which is still a workhorse of the air cargo industry ( half of all air cargo uses 747-400's )
and airlines passenger carrying 747's offer the cheapest cost per seat of any jetliner !
Gee if only Bill Boeing were around to see his company now - he would not believe
not big and very successful it has become since his untimely death in like the 1941-ish ?
The 747 is also still the world's fastest sub-sonic jetliner cruising at Mach .855.
The A-380 has a 7-story tall tail and the 747-400 sports a 6-story tall tail section, etc.
And lastly the Boeing 747 fleet has logged more than 35 billion miles or rather 74,000
round trips to the moon and back ... so lets see if the A-380 can realize a record like that !
OK, before you go out and buy one you might slightly object to the gas mileage of only
5 gallons per mile and a 747-400ER fills up at the gas pump with 63,500 gallons for just
under $200 Grand - Ouch !!! Oh well either way the Boeing 747 is an American Icon )
With my such unique missions as Air Force One, the rubust Space-Shuttle carrier aircraft
and the VERY cool ABL or USAF Airborne Million Watt COIL Laser Weapon that the Air Force ordered 7 of them. They are supposed to be able to fly 3 sets of 2 aircraft with one spare and are in flight refuelable just like the 2 Air Force One's. The hope to be able to blast something like 14+ 30-second laser bursts that can destroy say a scud missile on it's boost phase at up to 300 miles away ! Were was this when the SCUD missles were flying?
Let me stop his post and go BACK to scanning ... lol Forgive us all Lindsay ... we have sinned ... and we promise to behave ... the .... rest of the night ? ..... maybe )

 

[br0adband]

Wow, just... wow that thing is huge. Wouldn't it be so cool to have transporters, though? Who needs planes, just tap a badge on your chest and say where ya wanna go and bzzzzzz... you're there. Maybe someday...

 

[bmacc]

Wow, just... wow that thing is huge. Wouldn't it be so cool to have transporters, though? Who needs planes, just tap a badge on your chest and say where ya wanna go and bzzzzzz... you're there. Maybe someday...

The fun is in the journey, not the destination

 

[WA1CRZ]

Wow, just... wow that thing is huge. Wouldn't it be so cool to have transporters, though? Who needs planes, just tap a badge on your chest and say where ya wanna go and bzzzzzz... you're there. Maybe someday...

Can you imagine the ability to transport like on Star Trek? Take your half hour lunch break on a beach in Tahiti, be back in time for work.

 

[grant]

It maybe a niche market but when you live in Australia everywhere is long-haul - Singapore is 8hrs away, Hong Kong 8hrs, Tokyo 9hrs, LA 12hrs, London 20hrs and so on.
Both the Super Jumbo and the Dreamliner have a place in our market.

Grant

PS It looks more Antov from underneath - very wide fuselage.

 

[Michael-SATX]

I am not up on the Antonov AN-225 ? Is that the Russian "one-of" special purpose cargo plane like the Super Guppy ? Somebody post a picture of this Antonov AN-225 plane !
Yeah Grant I definetly can see your point of wanting lots of space and comfort on a 20 hour flight - yikes ! Also, hold the pickles, onions and the screeming babies too right
Boeing is working on a bigger Jumbo Jet than the 747-400 with their new 747-8 jetliner.
PS~ That tail mounted camera looking forward on the A-380 is great tool for the pilots!