10.19.07
Posted in Uncategorized
at 11:24 pm
This year was the last of the reign of the legendary Boeing 747. This liner now is experiencing the rise of the new queen of the skies, of its successor Airbus A380. The whole world will greet the triumphant flight of the superjumbo on the 25 of October as by far the greatest scientific achievement of man. So, what characteristics were actually improved for the Airbus A380 to eclipse the 747’s fame and glory?
Boeing 747. This passenger airliner for a very long time was a standard aircraft of many airlines all over the world. It has 452-seat configuration. The flight time of the Boeing 747 is 5,7 thousand miles. It was produced by one of the largest air-constructing corporations Boeing Company starting since 1969. In October 1977 the wide-body jetliner set new around-the-world flight speed record via both North and South Poles: 26228,69 miles distance (from San-Francisco to San-Francisco) was covered within 54 hours 7 minutes and 12 seconds. Informally this aircraft was titled Jumbo Jet after the name of African elephant Jumbo who lived in London Zoo in the second part of the nineteenth century. Besides, the weight-carrying ability of the jetliner is more than 200,000 tons. But another machine was created capable of flying by means of aerodynamic forces, buoyancy and surpassing the 747 in many aspects. And this machine was the…
Airbus A380. For almost 40 years the world was expecting something like this to appear and to break the reign of the Boeing 747. And that is why the Airbus A380 was called by the mass media Superjumbo right away after its presentation. This aircraft is 33% bigger that the 747. Not for nothing it was the hugest industrial project in Europe over a long period of time. This is a plane of gigantic size and importance. Its seat configuration is twice as big as of its predecessor: 840 seats. The Superjumbo needs twice as more floor than the 747. That is why many airports of the world would not be able to provide the lading place for it. Though, it has already taken the lead over the Boeing 747 and it is the new icon of the skies.
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Posted in Uncategorized
at 11:21 pm
From year to year people are trying to surpass themselves creating new super technologies and subduing the nature. We have tamed the skies, domesticated the depths of the oceans and gorges. The mankind has invented the smallest gadgets for the numerous purposes and the largest bulky and cumbersome things. And now there is one more giant to join this club: Airbus A380. But the more inventions are registered, the more questions appear. Do we really need all this? Where are the limits? When the nature will finally rebel against this conglomeration and against the waste of its resources and gifts?
Environmental threat. The Airbus A380 nowadays is the biggest airliner ever. Its constructors and designers had probably the main aim: to break the 747 record for size. And it is indeed bigger that Boeing, it can carry more than 800 passengers on board. But the question is: is it needed? Airbus states that the superjumbo was developed to satisfy the needs of the commercial carriers. But if the aircraft was proved and tested to be safe, than why there are so few orders of the Airbus A380? But notwithstanding all these the airliner will find its feet and will pollute the air, the ocean and the land. Let alone saying about the noise that is produced by the Airbus A380.
Luxurious waste. The Airbus A380 is supposed to introduce a new period of airborne luxury. That is why some people who are eager to improve their image, to rise above everybody else (literally and in the direct meaning) are ordering the jetliner. The rich men are buying the aircraft for their personal use, to get pleasure of having Jacuzzi, casino and couple of double beds at 25000 feet. That surely generates a lot of excitement. They think they will go down in history as the owners of the superjumbo. But actually they will do this as the wasters of the fuel, the polluters of the environment for the sake of their selfish egos.
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Posted in Uncategorized
at 11:20 pm
Is the world ready for such a miracle? The size and grandeur of the Airbus A380 leaves no limits for our imagination, it breaks all possible boundaries creating new freedom. This flying elephant strongly impresses our minds and notwithstanding huge number of troubles it encounters on its way, the Airbus A380 is going to rule in the skies. So, let us sing another ode to this exceptionally outstanding aircraft.
Technical characteristics. Airbus A380 is the largest and the most economical jetliner ever. It was designed and constructed by the concern Airbus S.A.S (earlier Airbus Industries). It is really impressing creation of the human intellect proving once again that man really is the highest stage of the evolution. The dimensions of the Superjumbo are difficult to imagine in the sky, but it flies, indeed. The height of the aircraft is 24 m, the length 73m, the wing span 79,4 m. The Airbus A380 can perform direct flights over a 15,000 miles distance.
Total grandeur. On the grounds of such a size, there is quite a lot of space on board. There are two passenger decks and you can find anything placed there: duty free shops, discos, swimming pools, some bars, weight rooms, etc. Airbus has made a lot of promises for this jetliner and its interiors especially. And now the company is trying to stick to them, making a reality of their clients’ demands, reasonable and unreasonable. That is why the Airbus A380 became such a new toy the rich long for – they can use the majestic aircraft to underline their own importance and image.
Airbus A380 superiority. And it is not only the predominance of gigantic size that impress. This aircraft is also of gigantic significance. First of all, this is a new, huge step for the humanity in the development of the technical engineering. The dream came true and people are ruling the heavens in some way. Maybe not that much, but still. Secondly, the Airbus A380 is better than its predecessors at many points. It was designed to enlarge the efficiency. Nothing more powerfully promotes the efficiency of the transport than an abundance of space. It is supposed to use less fuel and generate less noise, at least partially solving the vital issues of the twenty first century. Besides, according to its seat capacity – around 840 seats, - can cause the ticket price to be reduced.
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10.14.07
Posted in Uncategorized
at 10:03 pm
Airbus will pull out all the stops to celebrate the first delivery of its A380 superjumbo to Singapore Airlines on Monday in a bid to restore European pride in a project dogged by delays, in-fighting and share scandals.
The European planemaker is flying in guests for an upbeat one-and-a-half-hour handover ceremony. It caps 7 years of effort worth 11 billion euros ($15.5 billion) to create the world’s largest jetliner and challenge the unbroken 40-year reign of the Boeing 747.
A foul-up last year over the installation of the 500 km of wiring on each plane toppled Airbus management, pushed the planemaker into loss and delayed Europe’s biggest industrial project by two years, leading to 10,000 job cuts.
“I didn’t think some of these leading airlines would stay with us through two years of delays on the A380, with five different CEO’s and a battle between France and Germany over the governance of the company,” said Airbus sales chief John Leahy.
“They have, and I think that’s a testimony to the 55,000 people who work here,” he told Reuters Television.
The first aircraft is being delivered to Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) 18 months later than planned. It will enter service between Singapore and Sydney with a flight raising money for charity on October 25. Full service will begin on October 28.
All eyes in the cut-throat airline industry will be on the frills and cabin layout to be unveiled by an airline which sets standards for on-board comforts. It has announced a 471-seat configuration, leaving more space than the standard 555 seats.
With two passenger decks and room for a bar and shops, the A380 claims 50 percent more floor space than the 747 and its designers boast it will introduce a new era of airborne luxury.
Buyers such as British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic promise double beds and casinos at 30,000 feet.
The delivery is a big milestone for Airbus after it battled successfully to stave off cancellations of the mammoth passenger plane, though buyers have deserted its all-cargo sister model.
Recent deals with British Airways (BAY.L) and Grupo Marsans have lifted the sales to 189 planes amongst 16 airlines.
MORE DELAYS?
But the Toulouse-based manufacturer faces its possibly toughest industrial test during 2008 and 2009. Chief Executive Tom Enders knows Airbus can ill afford further slippage in the timetable which calls for 13 deliveries in 2008 and 25 in 2009.
Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, owned by one of parent EADS’s core shareholders, Arnaud Lagardere, reported on Sunday that Airbus remained worried about deliveries and had launched a new set of measures last month to weed out any further delays.
The first two dozen aircraft are being wired by hand while a new system is prepared to bring output to 45 a year from 2010.
Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA), Europe’s largest aerospace and defense group, is meanwhile bracing itself for more turbulence over the actions it took over the worsening A380 delays back in Spring 2006.
The second tranche of delays wiped 26 percent off the value of EADS shares when it was announced on June 13, 2006.
That was weeks after France’s Lagardere Group (LAGA.PA) and German car firm Daimler (DAIGn.DE) reduced their holdings, triggering probes in France and Germany over how much they and executives who exercised stock options knew of the A380 delays.
Both firms have denied insider dealing and are furious about the recent leak of a preliminary report to prosecutors by French regulator AMF spelling out “massive and concurrent” share dealing. The report does not make formal accusations.
Furore over the report spawned a secondary scandal in France over the decision by state bank CDC to buy 2.25 percent of EADS from Lagardere in April 2006. The decision led to a big loss for the bank which helps to manage state workers’ pensions.
Top government figures at the time have denied putting pressure on CDC to buy or any advance knowledge of its role.
On Sunday, Lagardere cast doubt on then Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin’s version of events by saying his aides were kept fully in the picture. Lagardere is close to President Nicolas Sarkozy who is seen as a bitter rival to Villepin.
The French Senate author of a recent report on EADS told Reuters the domestic French row was a minor irritant compared to Franco-German tensions which roiled EADS throughout the A380’s development. Those feuds led to a management overhaul in July.
“This is not as risky as it would have been 6 months ago,” conservative Senator Jean-Francois Legrand said, adding Airbus had until 2009 to find its feet before it would need more cash.
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