• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Toughest Tests Ahead As A380 Proves Its Mettle

Posted on: Friday, 19 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Aug. 16--The first Airbus A380 super-jumbo scraped its tail along the runway as it lumbered into the air from Istres airport, on the Cote d'Azur, earlier this month.

A specially-constructed skid sent a blaze of sparks into the air during the slow-speed take-off test, the latest in an18-month programme to prove the giant airworthy.

With more than 200 hours of test flights completed, the plane's builder, Airbus, headed by Gustav Humbert, says the world's biggest plane is "performing very well at this early stage in the flight programme".

Trent 900 engines, built by Rolls-Royce, power the test aircraft. They are reported to be meeting expectations, pushing the plane to mach 0.89, almost 40mph more than its designed operating speed of 575mph.

But fuel burn, which is increasingly critical to operating costs after the record-breaking surges in crude oil prices, is falling below expectations, though whether that is due to the design of the engines or the airframe, Airbus will not say.

Despite the promising performance, with 2300 hours of flight tests still to complete, Airbus will not be able to make up the three-month delay in starting flight tests.

This has irked customers and Singapore Airlines, the first buyer, is seeking compensation from the Toulouse-based planemaker. It wanted to bring the plane into service in autumn next year but will not now be able to do so.

Airlines around the world have ordered 149 A380s at about $250 million (£138 million) apiece. All face three-month delivery delays.

"We recognise the airlines are a bit disappointed," said an Airbus spokesman. "They want the aircraft on schedule, and some of them might like it now."

However, despite its daily flights out of Toulouse across the south and west of France, the 555-seat double-decker still has to undergo many of its more toughest tests in extreme climatic conditions.

The second of the four test planes will begin trials in October, including the critical evacuation test. Airbus Industrie must demonstrate that a fully-laden A380 can disgorge its 853 passengers safely in 90 seconds with half the doors blocked.

This winter, test planes must also fly in extremes of heat and cold and at high altitude. One is expected to go to Australia for manoeuvres in 40C. Another is scheduled to visit Canada and Irkutsk, in Siberia, to prove that de-icing systems work and that it can operate in temperatures as low as minus 50C.High-altitude tests will probably take place out of La Paz, Bolivia, though all the locations are subject to change if the local climate fails to deliver the desired conditions.

Meanwhile, Airbus's main rival, Boeing, is sounding out airlines about an "advanced" version of its venerable B747 jumbo, but is concentrating its commercial firepower on its slimmer long-haul twin-jet, the B787, which last week clinched another 40 sales in China, trouncing Airbus's planned A350 competitor.

-----

To see more of the Evening Standard, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thisislondon.co.uk.

Copyright (c) 2005, Evening Standard, London

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

BAESY, EAD, DCX, RYCEY, RR, BA, 7661,

Source: Evening Standard

More News in this Category