Airbus A380: everything you need to know

The Airbus A380 is world's largest commercial airliner. It was launched in 2007 and it has impressed the world with its spacious and luxurious interior. There are many interesting facts about A380, including the following:

The first fact about A380 will surprise you. Many believe that Airbus A380 is the largest plane in the world. It is not! There is one more airplane called Antonov An-225, it is larger than A380. It is russian-made aircraft and built for cargo transportation only.

Twenty airports in the world are handling A380 service, meaning that they have long enough runways, wide enough taxiways, and 78,000 square feet available at the boarding gate where the plane can be parked. Airports also need special equipment to handle passengers and cargo, and sometimes even baggage conveyor belts must be lengthened since 500 to 800 passengers means a lot of luggage. Also, the plane always receives priority takeoff clearance as its size is sufficiently large to block the ILS beacon, effectively blinding incoming aircraft navigation radios which are used for auto-land.

The internal working temperature of the airplane's four engines is 3100 degrees. And the engines are of the same lengths as of Mercedes C-series car.

Twenty-one flight attendants are assigned to the Lufthansa A380, working in five galleys and using a separate computer system dedicated to cabin activities. They have their own rest compartment with eight beds located below the galley at the rear of the airplane.

The Airbus A380 is flown by two pilots. “Actually, there’s no difference between flying 30 passengers and 526,” says Harald Tschira, a Lufthansa first officer. “This airplane is very easy to control, despite its weight, and the handling characteristics are more like a short-range airplane.” The pilots can nap in a sleeping compartment located behind the cockpit on long-haul flights while a second crew provides backup.

Inside, the airplane is unbelievably quiet. Not just relative to other aircraft, but absolutely: you simply do not need noise canceling headphones to enjoy movies or music.

The Airbus A380 is a pan-European product. The engines and wings are produced in England, parts of the fuselage and the tail in Germany and Spain. Airbus test engineer Fernando Alonso describes the airplane as “a symbol of Europe.” When complete, these airplane sections are shipped by land, air, and sea for final assembly in France.

The A380 is fitted with some awesome onboard entertainment: there are video cameras mounted in the nose wheel and at the top of the tail producing footage you can view from your in-flight entertainment system at your seat.

The Airbus A380's wings are the biggest ever created, 2,775 square feet in size and fully 54 percent larger than the wings of a Boeing 747. This is what we call progression – the Wright Brothers’ first flight was shorter than the A380’s wingspan.

The A380 is 24.1 meters high, 80 meters wide, and 72.7 meters long, equivalent to 2 blue whales length. The plane weighs approximately 590 tons.

Named the Airbus A3XX during its early development, the aircraft soon become known as the super-jumbo, a label which has stuck despite Airbus's efforts to promote it as the "gentle giant" because of its relatively green characteristics.

Emirates Airlines’ custom-made A380 contains a luxurious shower spa and a VIP cocktail lounge for First Class passengers.

22 per cent of the Airbus is made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic. However, designers have stated that an amazing 85 per cent of the aircraft will be recyclable.

Each Airbus A380 costs over £200million.

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