First flight for Airbus A380



The commercial aviation world made the early pages of mainstream media newspapers and television coverage yesterday due to the successful take-off and landing of the Airbus 380, the world's biggest passenger aircraft.

As much as the Boeing 747, which became known as the "Jumbo Jet", became recognizable due to its bubble behind the flight deck (constructed mainly for through the nose freight deliver), the Airbus 380 will become recognizable due to its full-length double decker layout.

There will be no doubting it when you see an Airbus in the flesh - the size and the double-deck and huge engines will easily make it standout from the crowd.

Some airlines have said they will equip their Airbuses lavishly, but my guess is the vast majority will be used to stuff as many passengers on seats as possible.

Will it be good or bad for the frequency of fear of flying within the general community?

My guess, is that it will increase it - on the basis that it ought to lead to less expensive but longer endurance flights, meaning more people will afford flying but it will be more challenging to do so - crowding and 18 hour flights leading the reason for increased fear of flying, as well as concerns about new equipment.

I'm flying with two patients next week, and Melbourne's Airport has been reduced to one runway, the north south (34/16) runway being widened expressly to handle the A380. It doesn't need to be lengthened at all for the A380.

If you want to see quite a few videos of the A380 first flight, and meet its crew (who all wore parachutes for the first flight) you can go to Airbus' official site and locate the section with photos and videos here.

The BBC website also has an excellent pictorial coverage of the A380 project along with excellent accurate commentary, viewable here.

Posted: Thu - April 28, 2005 at 12:11 AM         |

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