Airbus A380

December 28th, 2009

Although the cargo plane Antonov An-255 Myria is still bigger in dimensions, The Airbus 380 is the biggest airliner ever assembled. It was previously named A3XX. Measuring it from end-to-end, the A380 could fit a football field— from its one goal line to next goal line.

Here’s the Airbus A380 Dimensions in metric terms:

Overall length: 73 meters
Height: 24,1 meters
Fuselage diameter: 7,14 meters
Maximum cabin width: 6,58 meters (main deck) and 5,92 meters (upper deck)
Cabin length: 49,90 meters
Wingspan: 79,8 meters (geometric)
Wing area: 845 square meter (reference)
Wing sweep: 33,5 degrees (25% chord)
Wheelbase: 30,4 meters
Wheel track: 14,3 meters

The plane has a total of three decks. Passenger seated in the main and upper deck, which are connected near the airplane’s front by a majestic staircase and at the airplane’s back part, a small staircase is set. The lower deck outfit can be equipped to accommodate special passenger utilization, although the main purpose is for cargo. It’s up to the airline to decide what the lower deck will be furnished into. It all depends on the decision on what would be the purpose of the lower deck.

A380 can handle up to 840 passengers depends on the seating configuration. Compare to the airliner Boeing 747-400 dimensions, the A380 has thirty to fifty percent more seats to offer. The A380 can cover up to 10,000 miles of flight distance without stopping. The engines are designed to be capable of lifting up the 1,2 million pounds of the airplane’s weight for either short or long range flight.

Ten airlines interested to purchase this kind of jet bus. December 19th in 2000 would be a great day for Airbus as they receive 66 first order of the A380 right after its official launching. Some of the customers are famous airlines such as Air France, Federal Express, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines.

More airlines interested in operating the A380 since its entered production line on January 23rd in 2002. The launch customer of the Airbus A380 is Singapore Airlines. 2007 would be the year. Other commercial airlines that are planning to fly the A380 into commercial service: Australian’s Qantas Airways, and UAE’s Emirates Airlines.

Because of continuous improvement in technology, Airbus assures that A380 will turn into a more effective airplane than its major airline rival, Boeing 747. Airbus promises that A380 will utilize less fuel by up to 20%, the flights will be quieter, the travel costs are cheaper and the engines are more environment-friendly.