Airbus A380 on TV

[snizo]

For those intersted - Megastructures on the National Geographic Channel tonight has is doing a show on the Airbus A380. It is on at 10pm (eastern), but will surely be repeated at some point if you miss it. This is the show's description:

Airbus 380 The world's largest passenger plane is under construction and set to take to the skies in 2006. Weighing in at 1.2 million pounds, this MEGA-plane, can seat 555 passengers over two main decks. Building it requires a worldwide mega-factory and atransportation route the likes of which have never been seen before. Will the A380 be the future of aviation or will it be the biggest boondoggle in aviation history?

Airbus A380 Family Link

 

[gtg941f]

repeats at 1am as well for those interested.

 

[MarineAir]

watching it. Very interesting

 

[snizo]

Wishing it were a little more technical - ie what they're doing when they bake the wing panels.

Its a shame about all the lawsuits and such ... and that they're destroying wetlands. Can't complain about it too much, though - same thing happens in the US all the time.

 

[gregsivers]

What ever happened to the BWB - Blended Wing Body - design that was in a Popular Science magazine a while back? I believe Boeing was working on that.
[/IMG]

Maybe airlines going bankrupt, ergo no customers to buy it. And personally, I wouldn't want to fly in that thing, I like to look outside.

 

[snizo]

Greg - most airlines are not going backrupt. Many airlines in the US are having problems, but many carriers in other countries are doing just fine.

And ... airlines aren't going to not buy something that is much more efficient and cheaper to operate just because it looks different I'd imagin most passengers would fly whatever the airline gives them as long as the ticket is around $200 instead of $600.

 

[gregsivers]

Yeah snizo I know most aren't going bankrupt. My dad works for American and he hears all the speculation about airlines before it hits the mainstream press. And I'm sure you're right about the cheap tickets, all I'm saying is I don't like the looks of that wing looking thing.

 

[raptor10]

ON the lines of the BWB the project that the air force is working on is the Global Range Aircraft. The major advantages of the BWB design would be a "56-percent increase in lift-drag ratio, a 20-percent decrease in fuel burn, and a 10-percent decrease in the operating-empty weight" (see http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/gra.htm ) and "with a 280-foot wingspan, could carry 231,000 pounds of payload more than 7,000 nautical miles at a cruise speed of approximately 560 mph. This is almost twice the capacity of the Boeing 747-400."

It looks to be one sweet bird.

 

[snizo]

Walking sideways would be cool but then again I like turbulence, so I wouldn't be a good representative of the general flying population...

Perhaps that design is also being pushed off because it would require significant redesign or modifications to airports? Only a few US Airports are taking the necessary construction steps to handle an A380, and a flying wing isn't exactly what gates are meant to handle. Just a thought...

 

[Goober]

Yeah, the gate area is what got me thinking earlier. Nothing like eating up all that ramp space.

 

[snizo]

Well that design has a wingspan of 30 ft longer than the A380. If the A380 requires airports to modify taxiways and such, then it would, too. But I'm guessing that the diagram is for a plane similar to what raptor mentioned? Twice the capacity of a 747?

I assume that the design could be scaled down, though, right? To something a bit less difficult to fill during the off season? Either way - would be weird to fly on that thing. Then again - it would be weird to fly on the A380 but here it comes...

 

[eddie]

but then again I like turbulence

Anybody else other than snizo and me weird like that?

 

[gregsivers]

Anybody else other than snizo and me weird like that?

Oh no its not just y'all. I love it, so much fun to fly in. Little different when you're flying an approach (especially a PAR) and trying to stay on altitude so the IP up front doesn't give you sh!tty grades.

 

[flashypants]

Anybody else other than snizo and me weird like that?

Love it. On commercial flights as well.

 

[eddie]

Love it. On commercial flights as well.

"This is the Captain speaking, we are now providing your complimentary and mandatory in-flight roller coaster. Keep your belts fastened and your arms and legs inside the aircraft at all times. Enjoy your ride."