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I highly recommend the Airbus factory tour in Toulouse, France: https://www.toulouse-visit.com/let-s-visit-airbus/blagnac/pc... They definitely don't "reveal all the secrets of the A380" (as if), but it is interesting and the facility is staggeringly large (second largest by volume and sixth by floor area in the world).
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It's a good point. I suspect there's an argument that a newer design could be more fuel-efficient, but I haven't read anything on that. (The only things that operators care about are fuel efficiency and operating cost/commonality, and will the lenders finance it. Passenger comfort has no bearing.)
No, the killer was the move away from hub and spoke model to directs between secondary cities. This was exacerbated more by ETOPS allowing narrow body jets to cover ocean flights. No point in Southwest funneling all passengers to LAX to board an A380 to HNL when they can just have directs on 737s from every west coast city.
*came together. The A380 program is nearly over. The most incredible passenger plane in the sky. Comfortable for 16+ hours. I hope they can archive the blueprints for it well enough to consider building it again in the future.
Is the comfort really any difference in an A380 vs a 777 vs an A350? Cabin configuration is really the only differentiation between modern wide bodies and that’s mostly on the airline.
*came together. The A380 program is nearly over. The most incredible passenger plane in the sky. Comfortable for 16+ hours. I hope they can archive the blueprints for it well enough to consider building it again in the future.
Is the comfort really any difference in an A380 vs a 777 vs an A350? Cabin configuration is really the only differentiation between modern wide bodies and that’s mostly on the airline.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is the comfort really any difference in an A380 vs a 777 vs an A350? Cabin configuration is really the only differentiation between modern wide bodies and that’s mostly on the airline.
You listed the 777 which is an older plane. The newer 787 Dreamliner has been in service for almost 10 years. It is more comfortable because it's composite structure allows for higher humidity and higher air pressure. A normal flight has an air pressure equivalent to being at 8,000 feet altitude. The 787 is equivalent to 6,000. The humidity levels are also higher at 15% vs 4% for other planee. Both of these make you…
I met an Airbus test pilot once. Among other stories he told me that the A380 is one of best balanced planes out there, and apparently a joy to fly. He said even without engines he could easily land it like a glider. Now, I can't really verify what he said, but he seemed sincere. Having travelled in the A380 as passenger, I will sure miss it.
*came together. The A380 program is nearly over. The most incredible passenger plane in the sky. Comfortable for 16+ hours. I hope they can archive the blueprints for it well enough to consider building it again in the future.
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I’m sure they’ll hold on to all the Cad Data, the issue is making sure all the suppliers have the Cad data for tooling and parts, it’s unlikely coming back after going away.
Just hope that they keep it in the right version of CATIA: https://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/a380_delayed... [Kind of annoying that the Bloomberg article is referenced all over the place, but that Bloomberg's site has broken the link] Edit: More technical link: https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=770047
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Is the comfort really any difference in an A380 vs a 777 vs an A350? Cabin configuration is really the only differentiation between modern wide bodies and that’s mostly on the airline.
In terms of seats, it’s roughly the same (and some airlines have awful A380 configurations), but amenities like showers and bars are much easier on the A380 given the space constraints of other widebodies. Also IME engine noise is reduced given how far you can be from them versus a normal widebody.
*came together. The A380 program is nearly over. The most incredible passenger plane in the sky. Comfortable for 16+ hours. I hope they can archive the blueprints for it well enough to consider building it again in the future.
Do airplane designers really go back to older designs to make next generation planes? I guess the documentation of design decisions could be useful but the design files by themselves seem pretty difficult to re-use.
Also you can straight up reuse parts, which avoids the need to qualify them.