How is the world's largest passenger plane made? Airbus A380. Where are the components manufactured and how are they transported. Airbus A380 modifications

Airbus A380- wide-body double-deck jet passenger aircraft, created by Airbus S.A.S. (previously Airbus Industry) is the largest serial airliner in the world.

The height of the aircraft is 24.08 meters, the length is 72.75 (80.65) meters, the wingspan is 79.75 meters. A380 can make non-stop flights at a distance of up to 15,400 km. Capacity - 525 passengers in the cabin of three classes; 853 passengers in single class configuration. A cargo modification of the A380F is also provided with the ability to carry cargo up to 150 tons over a distance of up to 10,370 km.

Among the big ships Airbus A380 is the most economical: 3.0 liters of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers (54 nautical miles) of travel.

Maximum takeoff weight the liner is 560 tons (the weight of the aircraft itself is 280 tons). Today, the A380 is also the largest passenger aircraft in the world, surpassing the Boeing 747 in capacity, which can carry up to 525 passengers. The latter was the most big liner for 36 years, while the absolute record for commercial use still belongs to the An-225 Mriya.

For development Airbus A380 took about 10 years, the cost of the entire program amounted to about 12 billion euros. Airbus says it needs to sell 420 aircraft to recoup its costs, although some analysts estimate the figure should be much higher.

According to the developers, the most difficult part in the creation of the A380 was the problem of reducing its mass. It was possible to solve it through the widespread use of composite materials both in load-bearing structural elements and in auxiliary units, interiors, etc.

Advanced technologies and improved aluminum alloys were also used to reduce the weight of the aircraft. So, 11-ton center section for 40% of its mass consists of carbon fiber. The top and side panels of the fuselage are made from Glare hybrid material. On the lower fuselage panels, laser welding of stringers and skin was used, which significantly reduced the number of fasteners.

According to statements Air company bus, per passenger Airbus A380 burns 17% less fuel than the “largest aircraft today” (apparently referring to the Boeing 747). The less fuel burned, the lower the emissions carbon dioxide. For an aircraft, CO2 emissions per passenger are only 75 grams per kilometer. This is almost half the carbon dioxide emission limit set by European Union for vehicles manufactured in 2008.

The first A320 aircraft sold was handed over to the customer on October 15, 2007 after a long acceptance test phase and entered service on October 25, 2007, having completed commercial flight between Singapore and Sydney. Two months later, the president of the company Singapore Airlines Chu Chong Seng stated that Airbus A380 performs better than expected and consumes 20% less fuel per passenger than the company's existing Boeing 747-400s.

The second A380 for Singapore Airlines was handed over by the company on January 11, 2008. Until 18 March 2008, Singapore Airlines operated its two aircraft in a 471-seat configuration between Singapore and Sydney. After the arrival of the third aircraft, it was decided to expand the number of air routes on the Singapore-London route.

January 25, 2008 Airbus A380 Qantas (the second airline to order the A380) made its first flight. Qantas said it will initially use the A380 in a 450-seat configuration on its Melbourne-Los Angeles route. Subsequent routes may include Sydney-Los Angeles, as well as Melbourne-London and Sydney-London.

The first aircraft powered by the GP7270 engine from Engine Alliance (ordered by Emirates Airline) made its maiden flight on 4 September 2007. At the disposal of Emirates Airline, he should come in September 2008 and make its first flight to New York. As of January 2011, five various airlines There are 43 Airbus A380s in operation worldwide.

Airbus A380 can be equipped with two types of engines: A380-841, A380-842 and A380-843F with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine, and A380-861,A380-862,A380-863F,A380-864F with Engine Alliance GP7000 engine. The Trent 900 is the successor to the Trent 800, with the GP7000 descending from the GE90 and PW4000. At its core, the Trent 900 is a scaled-down version of the Trent 500, but it also uses technology from the stillborn Trent 8104. Only two of the four engines have thrust reversers.

Noise reduction was an important requirement in the design of the A380, which was partly reflected in the design of the engines. Both engine types enable the aircraft to meet QC/2 departure and QC/0.5 arrival noise limits set by London Heathrow Airport, which is expected to be a key destination for the A380.

The A380 can fly on a blend of aviation kerosene with natural gas GTL. A three-hour test flight on 1 February 2008 between Airbus' facility at Filton Bristol in the UK and Airbus' main plant in Toulouse, France was successful. One of the Airbus A380's four engines used a mixture of 60 percent aviation kerosene and 40 percent GTL fuel supplied by Shell.

The aircraft does not require modification to use GTL fuel, which is designed to be blended with regular jet fuel. GTL does not contain sulfur compounds, which compares favorably with conventional kerosene.

Noise level in the cabin Airbus A380 50% less than the Boeing 747. Also, a higher air pressure is maintained inside the aircraft (equal to the pressure at an altitude of 1,500 meters versus 2,500 for the 747). Both of these factors are expected to help reduce passenger fatigue while traveling.

The upper and lower decks of the aircraft are connected by two stairs, in the bow and tail sections liners wide enough to accommodate two passengers shoulder to shoulder. In a 555-passenger configuration, the A380 has 33% more passenger seats than a Boeing 747-400 in a standard three-class configuration, but the cabin has 50% more space and volume, resulting in more space per passenger.

The maximum certified capacity of the aircraft is 853 passengers when configured with a single economy class. The announced configurations range from 450 seats (for Qantas Airways) to 644 (for Emirates Airline, with two comfort classes).

The giant double-deck Airbus A380 is the largest passenger aircraft in the history of world aviation, with a maximum capacity of 853 passengers in a single-class configuration. The first copy was handed over to the customer in 2007, more than 110 machines have been built to date! Today I want to show the A380 assembly line at the Toulouse factory, the scale and dimensions of what I saw are impressive ... Well, big plane- great photos in the report!

Many spotters, and not only them, consider the aircraft aesthetically unattractive. I categorically disagree with this statement, moreover, I consider it especially beautiful and elegantly heavy. The slowly taking off A380 is beautiful!

Now let's go to the factory...

This is the layout production capacity at the factory in the town of Balagnac near Toulouse, the orange one is the assembly shops of the A380.

Each A380 consists of approximately 4 million individual components and 2.5 million parts, manufactured by 1,500 companies in 30 countries

The main elements of the A380 fuselage cannot be transported by air, so they are transported by sea and by river on specially adapted barges, and then twice a month by car - this is called the "night convoy".

Especially for this Airbus aircraft developed a unique logistics system that involves sea, river, air and road transport. From the town of Lisle-Jourdain, about 30 km from Blagnac, at exactly 22:00, the night convoy begins to move at a speed of 15-20 km / h, so as not to interfere with traffic - six trailers, which accommodate all parts of the aircraft, depart in a two-hour way to the final point - the final assembly line in Blagnac.

Fuselage sections with a diameter of 7 meters are driven straight through the narrow streets of the town. But this is the only possible and most optimal point for delivering the elements of the liner to the plant.

At the first station, the fuselage sections are assembled and connected to each other

Then the wings and vertical stabilizer are mounted:

The wing area of the A380 is 845m2, which is 54% more than that of the Boeing 747-400!

And it's not just a tail... it's FIVE giraffes! :)

Preparation of engine pylons:

The aircraft is assembled, the passenger cabin and cockpit are being installed at the following positions:

Each of the main landing gear is capable of withstanding loads of up to 260 tons, which is equivalent to the weight of 200 Golf cars.

And finally, the last assembly station, where the installation of engines and passenger seats is carried out:

The A380 can be equipped with two types of engines: Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7000. Only two of four engines equipped with thrust reversers.
Noise reduction was an important requirement in the design of the A380, which was partly reflected in the design of the engines. Both engine types allow the aircraft to meet the QC/2 departure and QC/0.5 arrival noise limits set by London Heathrow Airport.

The A380 is the most economical aircraft in its category. This is the only long-haul airliner that consumes less than 3 liters of fuel to transport a passenger per 100 km (typical layout of 525 seats)

total area cabin A380 - 554 m2. Two full decks: the main deck is the widest passenger compartment in the world (6.5 m); upper deck - full saloon wide-body aircraft(5.8 m). The air conditioning system of the aircraft is equipped with the most modern filters that provide uniform air supply to all parts of the aircraft. The air in the aircraft cabin (volume 1570 m3) is completely replaced every three minutes! The A380 has the quietest passenger cabin in the history of world aviation, I was convinced of this personally on the way from Frankfurt to Singapore.

This A380 is expected to be handed over to a private customer. And behind it, the A300B is the first aircraft produced by Airbus. This plane made a coup in civil aviation 70s, becoming the first wide-body twin-engine aircraft.

The circular structure on the right is the static engine test area, with barriers around the circle that limit the distribution of the sound wave.

To date, more than 110 A380 aircraft have been produced, and an average of 2.5 aircraft are produced and handed over to customers every month. The order backlog is 160 more boards! IN this moment The A380 is operated by 20 airlines.
Here are some interesting B777/B747 replacement statistics on some flights:

And the occupancy of the A380 is also not lower than 80%:

Emirates has the largest A380 fleet:

Five A380s were built for demonstration and testing purposes. The first A380, serial number MSN001 and registration F-WWOW, was presented at a ceremony in Toulouse on January 18, 2005, and first flew on April 27, 2005. Here is the very first A380:

Assembly shops of the Airbus plant can be visited by everyone! 2-3 hour tours are organized both in Hamburg and Toulouse at a cost of 10-15 euros. Reservation is required (!) especially if it is important to get into a group with an English-speaking guide, read the links for additional and current conditions.

Passengers enjoy flying the Airbus 380-800, no matter what class they fly. This wide-body double-deck monster is used not only on long-distance routes, but also on regional routes with high traffic density. The capacity of the liner is from 400 seats to more than 800 passengers. The aircraft can fly 15,000 kilometers non-stop, but fully loaded for 12,000 kilometers.
It holds 42% more passengers and consumes 22% less fuel per passenger than the Boeing 747-400

Airbus A380-800

The double-deck wide-body airliner appeared on airlines in 2007, setting a high bar for competitors, which no one has yet been able to overcome. Airbus flies higher, farther and quieter, requiring low fuel consumption and operating costs per passenger carried. The main thing is that the flight is fully loaded.
Russian companies also take part in the development and production of the A380. design bureaus and enterprises. More than half of the concern's needs for ultralight titanium are provided by the VSMPO production association in Verkhnyaya Salda.

The price of the aircraft is about 400 million dollars.

This is the first aircraft in the world with two independent decks, called "upper deck" (located on the upper level) and "main deck" (located below the upper deck).
Unlike the Boeing 747-400, the A380 provides direct access through two or three doors to the lower and upper decks.

The liner is equipped with four GP7200 or RR Trend 900 engines with a thrust of 311 kN.

Airports for A380

To understand what airports wishing to receive the A380 have to prepare for, just look at the landing gear alone: the aircraft needs parking space 80 by 80 meters. It is necessary to expand the waiting rooms, as well as rebuild the terminals so that hundreds of passengers can go to boarding on two decks at once. Runways also need improvement: for this aircraft, their width should be at least 45 meters, and the ledges - 7.5 meters on both sides.

Airports that accept A380 in Russia: Domodedovo Moscow, Pulkovo St. Petersburg. In Dubai, for the world's largest fleet of double-deck Airbuses, Emirates built a separate terminal in 2012 with the ability to serve twenty aircraft simultaneously.

Specifications A380

The table shows the main specifications liner. Interior dimensions, noise level can be found in the articles dedicated to this.

Cockpit A380

The cockpit of the largest wide-body aircraft has been further developed with the latest advances in display technology, navigation and flight control systems. The main instrument panel contains 8 large LCD displays. Traditional paper documentation is becoming a thing of the past and has been replaced by an electronic library. In the cockpit there are no familiar steering wheels. Joysticks appeared instead.

The crew station is almost identical to the cockpits in other Airbus aircraft of the A320, A330, A340 and A350XWB families. This unification allows airlines to save significant funds on retraining and payroll. The conversion course for A320, A330, A340 takes 15 days, and the transition to A350XWB is a record low 5 days.

Salon Airbus A380

Comfort for all passengers - whether they are premium customers in first and business class, or tourists in an economy class cabin.

Airbus has gone to great lengths to make passengers feel more natural on long-haul flights aboard the A380 - with wider seats, more personal storage hand luggage and wider stairs and walkways.
The air in the cabin is completely renewed every three minutes to keep the atmosphere fresh and natural light is provided. big amount portholes. There are two hundred and twenty.

The noise level in the cabin of the 380th is lower than that of the A340-600 and significantly lower than that of the Boeing 777-300ER, 747-400.

Operators

by the most big park 380 in Emirates airlines. A separate terminal was built especially for him in Dubai.

There are no direct flights from Russia to the A380. Only during transfers at other airports, such as Dubai.

Creation and start of production of a double-deck wide-body aircraft Airbus liner The A380 ended the aircraft's undivided monopoly that had lasted for several decades. The machine is the largest passenger liner in the world.

Reliability and reduced operating costs provide a good demand for the machine, despite the high cost. The most expensive option was delivered to the king's family Saudi Arabia, and cost the customer 488 million US dollars.

History of creation

The beginning of work on a new large-sized airliner "Airbus" started in the late 80s. The aircraft was created as a competitor to the Boeing 747 airliner, which had monopolistically occupied the niche of such aircraft since the 70s. In parallel, a similar aircraft was developed by McDonnell Douglas Corporation, but its project was a failure.

The management of Boeing and Airbus was aware of the limitations of the aircraft market large capacity, therefore, in 1993, attempts were made to conclude a partnership agreement that allowed for the division of the market. In parallel, the development of projects that received the names "Airbus" 3XX and "Boeing" 747X.

For the Airbus machine, several variants of the fuselage were worked out, including the fuselage doubled in length from the model 340. The Boeing aircraft was supposed to be equipped with a fuselage with a nose increased in height.

The development of the Boeing project was halted in early 1997 due to the economic crisis V East Asia, which reduced the market for large-sized liners.

Airbus decided to continue developing the project, focusing on reducing operating costs while increasing capacity. It was then that a decision was made to use a double-deck fuselage, which provided maximum capacity aircraft.

The designation A380 appeared at the end of 2000, when the project was approved by the then management of Airbus. The assembly of the first aircraft began in 2002. A feature of the manufacture of the A380 aircraft was the use of the production capacities of several dozen enterprises scattered throughout Europe.

The first flight of the Airbus A380 took place in the spring of 2005, and already in early 2006, the first test flight across the Atlantic Ocean was completed.

Fine-tuning the design and solving problems that arose with suppliers shifted the start of aircraft production to 2007, in which only one copy was commissioned. Actual deliveries did not begin until the following year, in which 12 A380s were assembled.

At the beginning of 2017, 207 Airbus A380 liners, which belong to twelve airlines, were in active operation. During the operation of the aircraft, several minor flight accidents were registered.

In particular, in the fall of 2017, on one of the Air France airliners, elements of a turbojet engine separated in flight. The cause of the accident was a manufacturing defect in the fan hub of the GP7200 engine.

Fuselage and cockpit

The fuselage of the Airbus A380-800 is equipped with two decks for passenger seats. Between the decks there are ladders located in the bow and tail of the passenger compartment. When arranging the stairs, it was possible to provide a width sufficient for the free movement of passengers towards each other.

Carbon fiber composites are widely used in the fuselage design.

The end section of the fuselage is entirely made of composite. A tail horizontal and vertical stabilizer is attached to it. Inside there is a service compartment and an auxiliary gas turbine unit with a generator.

In the forward part of the fuselage is the cockpit, equipped with two seats. To display data in the cockpit, liquid crystal monitors (the “glass cockpit” concept) are installed with a unified design that allows you to replace devices.

Pilots do not have a traditional steering wheel. The steering wheel is replaced by joysticks located on the outside of the seats. Joysticks are connected with electric drives controls. There are more than 100,000 wires in the cockpit connecting various electronic and electrical components.

There is a folding table with a keyboard in front of the pilots. Between the seats there are controls, including four throttle levers for controlling engine operating modes.

The Airbus A380 wing was created based on a take-off weight of at least 650 thousand kg, which is considered achievable on future versions.

In addition, this weight was planned for the cargo version of the A380-800F, which never went into production.

Engines

Depending on the modification, the Airbus A380 can be equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or GP7200 family turbojet engines developed by Engine Alliance.

The GP7200 powerplant is a collection of components developed by several of the world's largest engine manufacturers. Both types of engines meet modern requirements for noise during takeoff and landing.

The table shows some characteristics of the engines.

Parameter	Trent 900	GP7200
Type	Turbofan three-shaft	Turbofan twin-shaft
Combustion chamber type	Single	Single with a reduced level of emission of harmful substances
Turbine design	One stage each for high and medium pressure, 5 stages for low pressure	Two stages of high pressure and 6-stage low
Compressor	One fan wheel, 8-stage medium pressure and 6-stage high	Fan, 5-stage low pressure and 9-stage high pressure
Length, mm	5478	4920
Diameter, mm	2950	3160
Weight, kg	6246	6712
Takeoff thrust, kN	310-340	311

To reduce the run distance, two engines have a thrust reverser (one under each wing). The engines use aviation kerosene as fuel.

Search work is underway to operate power plants using a mixture of kerosene and natural gas converted into liquid fuel. The fuel supply is located in 13 caisson tanks located in the wings and horizontal tail.

The fuel system has 41 pumps that constantly pump fuel between tanks to maintain centering and reduce drag.

Passenger compartment design

The pressurized passenger cabin of the Airbus A380 aircraft has improved sound insulation. The width of the fuselage allows you to place 11 rows of passenger seats.

All places are connected to communication lines built on the basis of optical fiber.

Embarkation and disembarkation of passengers is carried out through two doors located in the forward part of the fuselage on the lower deck.

First grade

Seats are located in the bow of the lower deck. There are 14 seats in total, 4 of them are located singly on the sides, the remaining 6 are placed in the central row in pairs. A feature of the first class seats is the possibility of folding into a full-fledged sleeping area.

At the beginning and at the end of the compartment there is a bathroom and a kitchenette. In addition, a shower unit is installed in the first class (not available on all Airbus A380s).

Business Class

Seats for business class passengers are located immediately behind the first class. The seats are arranged in eight rows at a sufficiently large distance from each other. The design of the chairs allows you to lay out the backs, forming a sleeping place.

In total there are 20 rows of seats, the total capacity of the business class cabin is 76 seats.

At the beginning and end of the salon there are mini-kitchens and a bathroom. There is a bar in the area of the first emergency exit. Second emergency exit located closer to the tail of the Airbus A380 aircraft.

Economy class

The economy class seats on the Airbus A380 are located on upper deck in three rows. The side rows have three seats, the central row has four. There are two aisles between the rows. There are bathrooms in the bow, stern and middle parts.

The cabin is designed for 399 passengers. Passenger seats are equipped with an individual screen mounted in the back. The economy class cabin has two mini-kitchens and three bathrooms.

At emergency economy class passengers can leave the Airbus A380 cabin through 10 emergency exits.

It is possible to expand the economy class cabin to the second deck. In this case, the capacity of the Airbus A380 reaches a record 853 passengers.

Chassis

In the scheme for extending and retracting the landing gear on the Airbus A380, a combined drive is used - from hydraulic systems (duplicated) and from executive electric drives (also duplicated). Electric drives drive the chassis through hydraulic systems.

Thus, it was possible to install four independent control systems, which increased the safety of aircraft operation and reduced the risk of dangerous situations. Chassis niches are closed with chassis doors made of composite materials. The design of the valves is monolithic.

Flight performance compared to competitors

Parameter	A380	A380 Plus	Boeing 747-8F
Wingspan, mm	79 800		68 450
Length, mm	73 000		76 250
Height, mm	24 100		19 350
Empty weight, kg	276 800		191 100
Maximum takeoff weight, kg	560 000	578 000	442 000
Fuel reserve, l	325 000		-
Total takeoff thrust, kN	1244-1360	At least 1244	1188
Maximum speed, km/h	1020		988
Cruise speed, km/h	Before 945		908
Flight range, km	15 200	15 756	14 100
Ceiling, m	13 115		13 000
Crew, people	2
Number of places, people	853	933	581

prospects

In mid-2017, Airbus announced the creation of an improved A380 Plus machine. The main direction of improvements was to reduce the cost of the machine, which in theory should increase the demand for the aircraft.

At the same time, the redesigned cabins are designed to accommodate a record 933 passengers. Capacity has been improved due to a closer layout of the cabin and a reduction in the area of service compartments.

Externally, the A380 Plus does not differ much from its predecessor - the main changes affected the design of the wing, which should have reduced drag.

Modified power plants Rolls-Royce and Engine Alliance have reduced fuel consumption and increased traction by 7%, but official data on them in open access No.

Video

Imagine a huge airliner with a length of about 73 meters and a height of just over 24 meters, it is almost the size of an eight-story building that has a wingspan of almost 80 meters and can accommodate up to 853 passengers. Although, you are probably among those people who saw, and maybe even flew in the belly of this four-engine "monster".

And this handsome man is not today the pinnacle of technological thought of engineers, designers, assemblers and another huge number of people of the Airbus corporation, as well as other companies, without which such a huge “chick” would not have been born - Airbus A380, double-deck, weighing 280 tons, wide-body, liner flying on long-haul flights.

The development of the A380 took more than twelve billion euros. And about ten years of development. And its capacity is 35 percent more than that of its main competitor, the Boeing 747. One of the problems in the construction of the A380 was the problem of weight, because an extra kilogram of load increases the consumption of precious fuel.

Therefore, it was necessary to make the outer shell as light as possible, but at the same time as strong as possible. For this purpose, a combination a large number a new aluminum alloy that is lighter and has better impact resistance than conventional aluminum alloys and composite materials, including those based on fiberglass. Since the factories for the production of components for the liner are located not only in France, but also in other countries, such as Spain, Germany and the UK, for the delivery of components to Toulouse, Airbis S.A.S. built for these purposes a special transport vessel, for the delivery of parts of the fuselage, by water.

Airbus A380 saloon

The aircraft is equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent-900 engines or Engine Alliance GP-7000 engines. The A380 uses the latest integrated modular avionics IMA (Integrated modular avionics), which was first used on the modern F-22 fifth-generation fighter. Eight 15x20 cm displays are installed in the cockpit, which displays all flight information and data on the status of on-board systems.

The first flight of the Airbus A380-800 with Rolls Royce engines was made on April 27, 2005. And the transatlantic flight took place on January 10, 2006. And already on December 12, 2006, the A380-841 modification with Trent900 engines was certified. The variant with GP-7000 motors received a certificate in 2007 on December 14th.

Best Airbus A380-800 Seats - Emirates

The best seats on the Airbus A380-800 - Lufthansa

Airbus A380 cabin layout

Apart from base case, there is a variant of the A380 in a luxury finish, where passengers have their own bed, bar, lounge or gym. The A380 liner is capable of flying without refueling over a distance of fifteen thousand kilometers.

It is also proposed to produce a cargo version - A380-800F, with a carrying capacity of more than 145 tons and a range of 10,000 kilometers.