Double-decker Airbus - fookin MASSIVE

[Easy 10]

Just seen that new double-decker Airbus A380 on the news - it can carry up to 850 passengers. Just look at the SIZE of that bastard compared with a Jumbo and a London bus:

Unbelievably, the reporter on ITN said that there is room to park 70 cars on each wing. I just can't see how it could possibly take off with that amount of additional weight though. And I wouldn't have thought all that many people would want to take their cars on holiday with them anyway. Not only that, but your motor would have to have a pretty good handbrake to stay on for the journey.

Still, pretty amazing stuff all the same.

 

[stoke]

Is that the new meaning of park and ride!!!!?

 

[Muzzman]

It surely is big

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Some are going to have gyms on

 

[Mr Fridge]

Right firstly 70 cars of what size? I mean you need more space to park 70 rollers than you do to park 70 smart cars.

And...

Getting on and off planes that carry around 100 passengers is hard enough imagine the problems with 850. Imagine the increased chance of people having the same type of baggage (my son recently swapped bags with a UN good will ambassador on our trip to Venice!) Think of the scrum for the baggage carrousel

ban this monstrosity now!

 

[Beach Hut]

They reckon, in a perverse way, this will reduce air traffic polution as more people will travel on less planes.

Salute British engineering - we made the wings, cockpit and gear box plus other parts.

Oh and it once huge plane - Casinos and up and down exiting etc

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

gear box

Oh please! It's a jet engine ffs and anyway of the nine existing A380 customers, three have yet to make their engine choice. Engine Alliance–a joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney–has secured firm orders for 32 aircraft sets from Air France and Emirates. Rolls’ Trent 900 has been selected by Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas. FedEx, ILFC and Qatar Airways are the A380 customers that have yet to commit to an engine supplier.

 

[The Large One]

Multi-national was it?

The French built the legs and ears, the Germans built the massive body, the Italians built the tusks and trunk and the British painted it white...

 

[Easy 10]

Its also going to have a bowling alley, but this may be closed during turbulence.

 

[Beach Hut]

Shropshire the orders are bigger than that and 140 with 220 to break even - unless ITN new have told a big whopper

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Some are going to have gyms on

and Kevins, and Daves and Peters...

 

[fataddick]

Gyms? Cinemas? Bowling alleys? Swimming pools? Yes, in theory, there's room on the plane for things like that but do you really think many airlines would leave out 50+ seats (ie forego a five figure sum worth of revenue on every flight) to put in a gimmick like that? A couple of dumbells in business class is likely to be the extent of it IMHO.

 

[Everest]

Maybe we won't need Falmer after all. Will it have room for a football stadium? If so, will our home games be played up, up & away?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Maybe we won't need Falmer after all. Will it have room for a football stadium? If so, will our home games be played up, up & away?

as Cloughie said: "If football was meant to be played in the air, God would have put pitches in sky"

 

[Bozza]

I got very excited when I heard they would have a casino on these 'planes.

Whilst I mention casinos - go here: http://www.888.com/?sr=360357, play a few dollars and help NSC.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I reckon most will fly as 800 seat cattle trucks. I don't know how they will get them into Heathrow. Apparently, you can't get two 747-400s side-by-side at Terminal 3, and British Airways, who are taking over the whole of Terminal 5, are not purchasing it. Terminal 4 does not take that many planes. If Virgin, Singapore Airlines, etc. are purchasing them, the queues at Heathrow could be even longer than now, what a lovely thought! I don't know if Gatwick will be able to take it.

 

[Robot Chicken]

AIRBUS A380: A WHALE OF PLANE!
Despite looking a bit like a Whale with wings, this is a species of the air that will be flourishing by 2006.

Airbus says it's more fuel efficient than a car - and we've worked out it averages about 90.6 mpg per passenger - which is pretty good considering it'll be loaded with human cargo and contraband.

When you gaze up and see the ballooned aircraft heading in or out of the clouds you might want to bear in mind a few of its vital stats:

• It's 73 metres long.

• Its wings span 79 metres.

• It's 24.1 metres tall.

• It'll take 555 passengers (in three classes).

• It can take off loaded up to a max weight of 560 tonnes.

• The fuel tanks hold 310,000 litres.

• It can fly 15,000 k before needing a fill-up.

Because the new beast of the skies is so damn big (a third larger than a jumbo to be precise), Heathrow needs a little bit of tweaking. A pier at Terminal 3 will be demolished to make more space for the massive wingspan of the plane.

The new development will be 280m long and stand three storeys high.

It is designed to allow passengers to board and leave the super-jumbo from both levels of the aircraft.

TOULOUSE!
Most of the airbus is being being built in Toulouse in France. Production started in
2000 in anticipation of the first flight towards the end of 2004. The aircraft is then expected to go into service in 2006.

MILE HIGH!
More people than ever are likely to be tempted into the mile high club with cabins and beds that lend themselves well to making sure boredom doesn't set in during a 12 hour flight, or they could even get saucy in the showers!

The twin-deck widebody of the roomy A380 has meant that some airlines have requested facilities like an office, a childrens' play area, a gym, a bar, shops, a smoking area, and a mini casino.

But is it too big for Gatwick? Here is the new footbridge being built:

Bridge dimensions
Length of bridge: 197m
128m maximum span
22m headroom from taxiway
11.5m minimum floor width at midspan
Complete bridge weight: 2400 tonnes
2260m2 of external glazing units

A380 dimensions
Overall length 239 ft 3 in 73 m
Cabin length 166 ft 3 in 50,68 m
Fuselage diameter 23 ft 5 in 7,14 m
Max. cabin width main deck 21 ft 7 in 6,58 m
Max. cabin width upper deck 19 ft 5 in 5,9 2m
Height 79 ft 7 in 24,1 m
Wheelbase 99 ft 8 in 30,4 m
Track 46 ft 11 in 14,3 m

so it's 2.1m too LOW for the A380. Clowns!

 

[Man of Harveys]

Good thread.

I like the way that, according to a man on the telly, the 380s engines is the same width as the older Airbus' fuselage. Or something else big that I can't really remember.

European technology and cooperation at its very best and seeing off the Americans at their own game. Marvellous stuff, can't wait to go on one.

 

[Lammy]

Europe 1 - 0 USA

 

[Barnet Seagull]

Isn't the US equivalent going to be able to fly for a very long time, meaning no stopovers?