A380 first flight 4/27!

[sandman2122]

It took off today, imagine that...............

 

[bocefus]

"Is Airbus benefitting from NASA studies? Don't know. Would NASA exist today without Werner Von Braun? Don't know about that either."

Seems as though you get your subsidies and loan info from Airbus publications and your history from French texbooks. I suggest you take time to see what industry experts such as the Teal Group and the UK's very own Airclaims have to say regarding the matters. By the way, NACA, the predecessor of NASA was alive and well when Von Braun was just a Nazi pup. You might also note that he benefited greatly from the research and works of Goddard. Would the EU exist today without the Marshall plan? I think I have the answer.

 

[Flywrite]

So I see on TV that the 380 flew today, then I see this thread and figure I will see what the reaction is. Perhaps predictably the thread, like so many others, has disolved into political bickering.

Do ANY of you guys remember when you just thought airplanes were neat?

Do ANy of you remember a time when your only reaction to seeing this thing fly would be "Wow..."?

 

[EuroWheenie]

bofecus

I'm sorry, but my French skills does not allow me to read French history books. I generally get my information from the i-net and aviation publications such as Flight International. Where do you get yours? Or let's put it differently, most of the things you and I read are slanted in slightly different directions. Where one decides to put ones trust is an individual decision. I'm basically in the middle, in that I suffer from no illusions that EADS doesn't receive vast subsidies in the form of repayable loans. Likewise, I'm under no illusions that Boeing doesn't receive vast subsidies too, whether in the form of tax breaks or R&D support. Why the US decided to open this can of worm is beyond me, but I might have been because of pressure from Boeing who, perhaps, hadn't thought it all the way through.

I trust you understand that my statement re. Von Braun was made in jest. I honestly cannot tell you how much EADS has benefitted from NASA research, just as I cannot tell you how much Airbus has benefitted from Messerschmitt, Fokker and Dassualt R&D. I do know that the wing on the Falcon 50/900 owes very much to the Dassualt F1 fighter, but what does that prove?

As for the Marshall plan, thank you very much. It did have the added benefit of providing the US with a market for it's products, which I expect was one of the reasons for the plan.

Latest

A380 is over the atlantic now, with live feed coming from the chase plane. She is a sight to behold!

 

[EuroWheenie]

Flywrite

Point taken. I was in awe over the A380 when she took off; I probably won't be quite so impressed once the 787 takes to the skies but I wish her all the best regardless. This industry is sadly left with only two players in the +100 seat segments, with the players living on each side of the Great Salty Divide. That sometimes get's some of us worked up a bit too much, even when we shouldn't. After all, our respective employeers decide what metal we get to play with, and as long as it doesn't try to kill us and keeps us in beer and sandwiches, who cares what badge its got on the bonnet?

I do remember when all aircraft was neat, and I still think that most flying machines are nice. With a few noticeable exceptions of course. In my younger days I considered myself a Boeing boy. Why? Because the first aircraft I got to ride the jumpseat in was a Boeing 720 from Conair. The opposition back then largely consisted of Douglas, and had the internet been around back then I'm sure there would have been equally heated debates of Boeing vs. Douglas.

As a European I am proud of what Airbus has accomplished. They have managed to out sell and out produce Boeing. They do have the strongest family of aircraft on offer at the moment. Boeing has suffered severe set backs in the last couple of years, and has seen former stars dwindle and disappear. Boeing has failed to renew its line-up, and Airbus has stolen the limelight. However, Boeing may very well be about to turn the tables and that will leave Airbus catching up. So much the better, if you ask me; it'll keep everyone on their toes and in turn we should see better aeroplanes as a result. And for the industry we're working in, that can only be a good thing.

Now if Embraer decides to go upmarket just one step at a time, maybe in 10 or 20 years we'll have 3 competitors and I'd welcome that with open arms. Competition you know, it's great for us consumers!

 

[TonyC]

Do ANy of you remember a time when your only reaction to seeing this thing fly would be "Wow..."?

I'm watching the video feeds now as it's still airborne, with the backdrop of a snowcapped mountain range, and that's exactly what keeps coming out of my mouth - - "Wow"

How apropos that the registry is F-WWOW.


We have witnessed the beginning of a new age of aviation, folks.


Stop your bickering and enjoy the view for a while, will ya?


Think of a 707 on steroids.



Does anybody else think the placement of the vertical stabilizer relative to the horizontal stabilizer looks a little odd? It seems the horizontal is situated farther aft.


I'm thinking it resembles a dolphin... enough so that I'm inclined to nickname it that.



.

 

[EuroWheenie]

TonyC

Well said. I'll get off this board now, open a can of Stella and watch the landing from my best chair.

Yeah, that feed with the mountains in the background. How lucky can these guys get with the weather eh

 

[XGmaninGA]

Caution, wake turbulence.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Well said. I'll get off this board now, open a can of Stella and watch the landing from my best chair.

Life's to short to drink $hitty beer.

 

[EuroWheenie]

Hugh Jordan

I'll let you know that Stella Artois is one of the finest lagers in my book, and the only one that was available in my fridge. Jupiler is fine too, but one of the finer things about living in Belgium is that you'd be hard pressed to find a bad beer - and there's more than 300 to choose from! Sure as hell beats the pants off the coloured water called Bud


Latest

She's back on the ground, landed a few minutes ago at around 12:25 UTC. Is it just me, or were those wings flexing a little more than usual?

Congratulations Airbus, a very nice performance!