The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by European Union manufacturer Airbus. It is the world’s largest passenger airliner, and the airports at which it operates have upgraded facilities to accommodate it. The A380 made its first flight on 27 April 2005 and entered commercial service in 25 October 2007 with Singapore Airlines.
Here are 19 things you didn’t know about Airbus A380 :
1. The first fact about A380 will surprise you.
Many believe that A380 is the largest plane in the world. It is not! There is one more airplane called Antonov An-225 Mriya, it is larger than Airbus A380. It is russian-made aircraft and built for cargo transportation only. The An-225 is displayed in the right image.
2. Rolls-Royce Engines
The A380 is available with two types of turbofan engines, the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or the Engine Alliance GP7000. The four Rolls-Royce engines of the A380 are the length of a Mercedes C-series sedan and four times as heavy. The internal temperature of the engine in operation is 3100 fahrenheit degrees.
3. Big Wings
The A380’s wings are the biggest ever created, 2,775 square feet in size and fully 54 percent larger than the wings of a Boeing 747. The wings and Engines of A380 are made in Broughton in North Wales then transported by barge to Mostyn docks for ship transport All parts once made are then shipped to France by ship, land for assembly.
Must Read : 15 Things You Didn’t Know About The Boeing 747
4. Smooth Takeoff
During takeoff, the A380’s wings practically flap, as the tips flex upwards as much as 13 feet.
5. European Made
The Airbus A380 is a pan-European product. Major structural sections of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The engines are produced in England, parts of the fuselage and the tail in Germany and Spain. The wings are manufactured at Broughton in North Wales, then transported by barge to Mostyn docks for ship transport. Airbus test engineer Fernando Alonso describes the airplane as “a symbol of Europe.” When complete, these airplane sections are shipped by land, air, and sea for final assembly in France.
6. Exclusive Airports
Twenty airports in the world are handling A380 service, meaning that they have long enough runways, wide enough taxiways, and 78,000 square feet available at the boarding gate where the plane can be parked. Airports also need special equipment to handle passengers and cargo, and sometimes even baggage conveyor belts must be lengthened since 500 to 800 passengers means a lot of luggage.
7. More Computer than Machine
The A380 is flown by two pilots. “Actually, there’s no difference between flying 30 passengers and 526,” says Harald Tschira, a Lufthansa first officer. “This airplane is very easy to control, despite its weight, and the handling characteristics are more like a short-range airplane.” The pilots can nap in a sleeping compartment located behind the cockpit on long-haul flights while a second crew provides backup.
8. 21 Attendants
Twenty-one flight attendants are assigned to the Lufthansa A380, working in five galleys and using a separate computer system dedicated to cabin activities. They have their own rest compartment with eight beds located below the galley at the rear of the airplane.
9. Seat with a View
From individual video monitors at each seat, passengers can watch the progress of the flight from cameras mounted below the cabin and on the airplane’s tail.
10. Maximum Range
The A380-800 has a design range of 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km), sufficient to fly nonstop from Dallas to Sydney, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h, 560 mph or 490 kn at cruising altitude).
11. Massive Wiring
If all the wiring in the A380 is laid end to end, it will stretch from Edinburgh to London – 320 miles.
12. More than 3600 liters of paint is required to paint the exterior of the aircraft.
It takes 3,600 L (950 US gal) of paint to cover the 3,100 m2 (33,000 sq ft) exterior of an A380. The paint is five layers thick and weighs about 650 kg (1,433 lb).
13. Air in the A380 cabin
The air in the A380 cabin is changed every two minutes, and the temperature can be selected between 18 and 30 degrees.
14. Speed
The giant plane flies at 13,136 m (43,100 ft), with maximum speed of 640 miles/hour.
Other Facts :
15. The A380 is 24.09 meters high, 79.75 meters wide, and 72.72 meters long, equivalent to 2 blue whales length. The plane weighs approximately 590 tons.
16. The A380 holds 84,500 gallons of fuel weighing 560 tons. It burns 17% less fuel than other large airplanes. It consumes 4 liter of fuel in 100km per passenger.
17. The giant plane has enough space to carry approximately 3000 suitcases and 525 passengers.
18. 8000 bolts are used to attach the three main parts of the aircraft. In total an A380 comprises of 4 million individual components, produced by 1500 companies, in 30 different countries.
19. Only few runways in the world are now fully capable of handling A380 aircrafts. Others are not long or wide enough or not technically equipped for A380.
19 Things You Didn't Know About Airbus A380
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