A380 first flight 4/27!

[EuroWheenie]

Hugh

Never been to the Pacific Northwest; is that in Russia? Kamchatka per chance? Anyways, if you'd been in Belgium you'd know that the Stella we get here is not quite the same as the export, or even worse licensed brewed, versions. And for lunch, anything stronger than 5.7% is a bit too heavy for me. Now I do enjoy the occasional Leffe Brun or even, on special occasions, a Chimay Bleu. I've even been known to down a Hoegaarden or 10. But not for lunch.

rvsm410

I belive the reason for the orange suits is ease of identification in case of, well, an outcome other than what was planned. I suppose it's the same reason the Space Shuttle guys and gals are wearing orange. A good idea is an idea worth stealing, as the Japanese used to say

 

[CSY Mon]

Yeah Mate, I am a bit biased.."If it ain't Boeing, I ain't Going"

Actually I am going every day now, we are short of drivers and I am working overtime...It does cut into my beer time, but it sure is good for keeping the bill collectors at bay.

As for Buses and Concords and such.

Man, I am surprised the Brit and French taxpayers put up with the Concorde thing: Enormous tax burdens to build a handful of fast jets so the rich and famous don't have to spend 7 hours on an Atlantic crossing...

Yeah, it was a symbol of technical excellence, but a money looser from day one and it sure did not benefit Joe-six pack that paid for the whole mess.


At least Airbus is making money as a commercial entity, and it should after having been shored up by various Governments for years.

Uh, back to the A-380 (Thread creep is my speciality) Yeah, big and ugly it is, but I must say the Frogs have grown balls to build that thing.
It could flop faster than ya could say white elephant, or it could be the future of commercial aviation...

Don't really care as my seniority would not get to the Fatso untill I timed out at 60, and at that time ya will see my arse parked at a Bahamian beach with a cold 'rita in hand thinking of my glory days on the whale...

 

[EuroWheenie]

CSY

Not just the Frogs mate; without the Spanish there'd no no tailfin to keep the nose in the right direction. Without the English there'd be no wings to generate lift and no power to propel the thing forward. Without the Germans there'd be no forward and aft fuselage, and without the Americans there'd be no landing gear to stand on. About the only thing the French do is bolt the thing together ... and they allegedly do so in the presence of a horde of German engineers (quality control being their speciality as we all know).

As for the Concorde. Quite an expensive exercise, but then again who could have foreseen that the oil price would skyrocket? Still the most beautiful man-made thing to grace the skies, and I count myself extremely lucky to have had the chance to pax in it (LHR-JFK, return on a Whale).

"If it ain't a Boeing yada yada yada". Can't follow you there, but then again you are a thick headed Noggie of dubious reputation so that's allright

Low and slow bro, og drik lige en omgang bajere for mig

 

[CSY Mon]

"If it ain't a Boeing yada yada yada". Can't follow you there, but then again you are a thick headed Noggie of dubious reputation so that's allright

Hey careful there ya little big-mouth...I may have to beat year ugly face against a brickwall a few times to the sound of Boeing, Boeing, Going, Going.

Yeah, I am sure the Krauts and Spaniards and all them guys are involved in the Big Atari Bus as well, but they forgot to include a designer with a soul: The thing just does not look right.

Planes are supposed be somewhat pleasant to the eye...

Can ya imagen Airbus engineers designing a woman?
She would probably be a big and functional milk and baby factory, excellent at house hold chores, but so butt-ugly that nobody would want to chat her up, or even ask her out for a date...

Nah, for a thing of grace I go the Boeing way.......

 

[bocefus]

"Can ya imagen Airbus engineers designing a woman?
She would probably be a big and functional milk and baby factory, excellent at house hold chores, but so butt-ugly that nobody would want to chat her up, or even ask her out for a date... "

And her "family" would pay people to take her out

 

[cforst513]

i tried viewing a video of the flight on Yahoo, but that website is worthless. anyone have a link where we can watch the flight or parts of it?

 

[TonyC]

i tried viewing a video of the flight on Yahoo, but that website is worthless. anyone have a link where we can watch the flight or parts of it?

From another thread:

The flyby:

http://www.leebrompton.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/A380_Fly_By.wmv

The landing:

http://www.leebrompton.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/A380_Landing.wmv

 

[EagleRJ]

Meanwhile, Airbus has yet to prove that the A380 can be evacuated in 90 seconds....

Its market might be limited by regulations, as well as range (which is rumored to be falling short of promises as the aircraft is overweight). We'll see.

 

[yasir1212]

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..."?

Def. have to agree with you.

 

[cforst513]

i said wow today when i saw that plane fly. i got goosebumps. planes are still really cool to me...

 

[El Cóndor]

I was able to watch the broadcast live on both BBC and CNN International. What an amazing aircraft . . . regardless of where it is made or which side of the pond you are on.

As someone suggested here, some front windows for the top deck would make the plane's front view profile easier on the eyes (i.e. better looking), not to mention the awesome vista of the earth and sky passing you by . . . don't know if that would be structurally possible though.

 

[Whale Rider]

Whale Rider

No, a "letter of intent" is not an order. An order is an order when money's on the table, not a second before. The current Air India/Airbus debate over the order of 40ish A32X aircraft is a case in point. Hell, "my" airline placed a "letter of intent" for 44 ex. BA 757s to be converted to freighters, but ended up buying "only" 34.

And if anyone's twisting the numbers, it's Airbus and Boeing; I'm only quoting direct from their websites!

Letter of intent means as good as sold....get used to it.

 

[Purpledog]

Its market might be limited by regulations, as well as range (which is rumored to be falling short of promises as the aircraft is overweight). We'll see.

I heard the cargo version is way overweight due to the reinforcement of the deck. Hopefully we will canx orders and buy the 744 instead. I would much rather fly the whale personally. I do have a taste for Chimay, Erdinger, and Guinness beer though. Maybe we can start a post of the best beers of the world. That would be something worth debating.

 

[Diesel]

You didn't think Chimay is a little too bitter?

 

[414Flyer]

Well when dealing with countries like India, a letter of intent does not mean the same as it would with other places. They still intend to buy some airbuses from a deal worked out a couple years ago, but it has not been approved yet by Indian gov.