A380 first flight 4/27!

[TonyC]

I can offer regular updates, though...



They just closed the L1 door.







.

 

[TonyC]

Pushing back...

 

[Sean Smith]

http://www.airbus.com/A380/Seeing/live/video/live.asx

 

[TonyC]

http://www.airbus.com/A380/Seeing/live/video/live.asx

Awesome - - now I'm watching two separate videos!

Tug's away... on her own power.


Large crowds have surrounded the perimeter of the airport. Apparently 9/11 didn't affect them



.

 

[EuroWheenie]

Just shy of 150 orders prior to first flight is hardly an indication of a failed aeroplane. The A380 will be a success for the carriers who can employ them efficiently. Do I sense a slight smell of the "not invented here" syndrome?

Anyway, as I write this BBC World has streaming video of the beast sitting on the taxiway getting ready for first flight. Time now is 08:21 UTC and flight is expected to commence within the hour.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk

By the way, congratulations to Boeing for winning the Air Canada order! Still got some way to go to catch up on Airbus; latest figures I saw in Flight International showed a Boeing backlog of around 1000 aircraft and an Airbus backlog of around 1500 ditto. Further, there is only around 20 unfulfilled orders for the 767 left (excluding the possible tanker order) and the 747 is only surviving on the back of freighter orders. The 737NG series has a smaller backlog than the A320 series, and the 777 is behind the A330/A340 backlog. In other words, beaten in every single segment. I suppose it's never easy to give up the number 1 spot, especially to a bunch of Euro's!

Measured by value an A380 with GP7200 donks, more than 50% is US made; less than 20% is French regardless of engine choice.

 

[TonyC]

She flies !

 

[HAL]

Thar she blows!

 

[EuroWheenie]

And UP she goes! Man, that is a thing of grace and it'll blow the whale clear out of the skies!

 

[bocefus]

The taxpayers of Airbus consortium countries should be proud!

 

[Whale Rider]

Just shy of 150 orders prior to first flight is hardly an indication of a failed aeroplane. The A380 will be a success for the carriers who can employ them efficiently. Do I sense a slight smell of the "not invented here" syndrome?

Anyway, as I write this BBC World has streaming video of the beast sitting on the taxiway getting ready for first flight. Time now is 08:21 UTC and flight is expected to commence within the hour.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk

By the way, congratulations to Boeing for winning the Air Canada order! Still got some way to go to catch up on Airbus; latest figures I saw in Flight International showed a Boeing backlog of around 1000 aircraft and an Airbus backlog of around 1500 ditto. Further, there is only around 20 unfulfilled orders for the 767 left (excluding the possible tanker order) and the 747 is only surviving on the back of freighter orders. The 737NG series has a smaller backlog than the A320 series, and the 777 is behind the A330/A340 backlog. In other words, beaten in every single segment. I suppose it's never easy to give up the number 1 spot, especially to a bunch of Euro's!

Measured by value an A380 with GP7200 donks, more than 50% is US made; less than 20% is French regardless of engine choice.

Hey wheenie tot,

Just want to point out that there are over 1000 747's still flying world wide. More 777's flying than A330/A340's and overall 11,000 Boeings flying to just over 4000 for Airbus. As for your "Not invented here" syndrome? Try "Reinventing the Wheel over there" Syndrome. "Beaten in every segment" you say? I don't think so.

 

[bocefus]

"The 737NG series has a smaller backlog than the A320 series, and the 777 is behind the A330/A340 backlog. In other words, beaten in every single segment. I suppose it's never easy to give up the number 1 spot, especially to a bunch of Euro's!"

Let's keep things in perspective here Wheenie lad. The 737 series is the best selling airliner anywhere and Boeing has delivered more of these than the entire Airbus line combined.

 

[(o) (o)]

Is it just me or is it EVEN UGLIER airborne?

 

[TonyC]

Is it just me or is it EVEN UGLIER airborne?

The former.




.

 

[EuroWheenie]

Whale Rider:

Hardly surprising that Boeing's got more metal flying than Airbus is it? They had everything currently on offer in the production line apart from the 75/76/77 when Airbus got the A300 off the ground ...

According to this Boeing page http://active.boeing.com/commercial...odel=777&cboAllModel=&ViewReportF=View+Report there are 507 airframes of all 777 types flying.

According to this Airbus page http://www.airbus.com/media/orders_n_deliveries.asp there are 635 airframes of all A330/340 types flying.

Would you care to retract your statement re. more 777 flying than A330/340?

Further, here is the current backlog breakdown:

Boeing
717 : 15
737 : 771
747 : 28 (All but 8 are freighters)
757 : 1 (Built but in storage awaiting delivery)
767 : 20
777 : 174
787 : 64

Total : 1073

Airbus
A300/A310: 55 (All but 3 are A300-600F)
A32x : 1064
A330/A340: 273
A380 : 139

Total : 1531

So I'll stand by my statement: Beaten in every single segment. You will notice that the Airbus A32X backlog alone is roughly the same as the total Boeing backlog ...



bofecus

All launch aid to Airbus, apart from the initial A300, has been in the form of repayable loans. Unlike the R&D support Boeing has been enjoying for the US governement, which is not repayable. So from a taxpayers point of view, I'd say us Euro's are better off than you Yanks.

 

[Whale Rider]

Whale Rider:

Hardly surprising that Boeing's got more metal flying than Airbus is it? They had everything currently on offer in the production line apart from the 75/76/77 when Airbus got the A300 off the ground ...

According to this Boeing page http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?optReportType=CurrentModels&cboCurrentModel=777&cboAllModel=&ViewReportF=View+Report there are 507 airframes of all 777 types flying.

According to this Airbus page http://www.airbus.com/media/orders_n_deliveries.asp there are 635 airframes of all A330/340 types flying.

Would you care to retract your statement re. more 777 flying than A330/340?

Further, here is the current backlog breakdown:

Boeing
717 : 15
737 : 771
747 : 28 (All but 8 are freighters)
757 : 1 (Built but in storage awaiting delivery)
767 : 20
777 : 174
787 : 64

Total : 1073

Airbus
A300/A310: 55 (All but 3 are A300-600F)
A32x : 1064
A330/A340: 273
A380 : 139

Total : 1531

So I'll stand by my statement: Beaten in every single segment. You will notice that the Airbus A32X backlog alone is roughly the same as the total Boeing backlog ...



bofecus

All launch aid to Airbus, apart from the initial A300, has been in the form of repayable loans. Unlike the R&D support Boeing has been enjoying for the US governement, which is not repayable. So from a taxpayers point of view, I'd say us Euro's are better off than you Yanks.

Hey Wheenie,

You forgot:

B787 = 217 orders (Not 64)

A350 = 10 orders