The Airbus A380 Super Jumbo

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. Referred to as the Super Jumbo, the Airbus A380 is biggest passenger plane ever made. Built to outcompete the Queen of the skies, the 747, this airplane is capable of hauling up-to 800 passengers in a single class configuration, and 525 in a three class configuration. The A380-800 has a design range of 15,400km (8,300nm), sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruising altitude). 

The A380 is available with two types of turbofan engines, the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 (variants A380-841, −842 and −843F) or the Engine Alliance GP7000 (A380-861 and −863F). While most of the fuselage is aluminium, composite materials comprise more than 20% of the A380's airframe. Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, glass-fibre reinforced plastic and quartz-fibre reinforced plastic are used extensively in wings, fuselage sections (such as the undercarriage and rear end of fuselage), tail surfaces, and doors. The A380 is the first commercial airliner to have a central wing box made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic. 

Initial production of the A380 was troubled by delays attributed to the 530 km (330 mi) of wiring in each aircraft. Airbus cited as underlying causes the complexity of the cabin wiring (100,000 wires and 40,300 connectors), its concurrent design and production, the high degree of customization for each airline, and failures of configuration management and change control. Dubbed the Superjumbo by the media the first aircraft was delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007 and entered service on 25 October 2007 with flight number SQ380 between Singapore and Sydney. Passengers bought seats in a charity online auction paying between $560 and $100,380. Two months later, Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choong Seng stated the A380 was performing better than both the airline and Airbus had anticipated, burning 20% less fuel per passenger than the airline's 747-400 fleet. 

The A380 offers a flying experience no other aircraft in the sky can match, and redefines the meaning of comfort for all passengers – whether they are premium customers in first and business class, or leisure travelers in the economy cabin. Airbus has gone to great lengths to make long-haul flying aboard the A380 feel more natural for its passengers – with broader seats, more personal storage, better head room and wider stairs and aisles. It’s got cleaner cabin air which is recycled every three minutes leaving a fresher cabin. The passengers love it for its sheer size and quiet cabin. 

Airbus' publicity has stressed the comfort and space of the A380 cabin and advertised onboard relaxation areas such as bars, beauty salons, duty-free shops, and restaurants. Proposed amenities resembled those installed on earlier airliners, particularly 1970s wide-body jets, which largely gave way to regular seats for more passenger capacity. Airbus has acknowledged that some cabin proposals were unlikely to be installed, and that it was ultimately the airlines' decision how to configure the interior. 

This aircraft features a similar flight deck with the A320, A330. A340 and A350 families. Thus airlines benefit from the reduced training requirements and a common pool of pilots. 

The strategy for airbus is simple. With air-traffic doubling every 15yrs, Hub cities will be getting bigger with greater passenger loads, since 90% of long-haul passengers fly from, to or through some 39 hub-cities worldwide, a plane with a larger capacity with fewer additional flights is the solution. 

The A380 has a market driven performance with several advantages over the closest competitor the 747-8. It offers 1300nm more range than the 747-400, and 900nm more than the 747-8. It needs 17% less runway to land, has 4000ft higher initial cruise altitude and has a 20kt lower approach speed(same as A320). It’s also got 100 more seats in a 3 class configuration than the dash 8. Airbus says that the A380 burns 17% less fuel per seat than the 747-400 and thus reducing the carbon footprint. 

The A380 has been involved in one aviation occurrence and no hull-loss accidents as of July 2012. On 4 November 2010, Qantas Flight 32, en route from Singapore Changi Airport to Sydney Airport, suffered an uncontained engine failure, resulting in a series of related problems, and forcing the flight to return to Singapore. There were no injuries to the passengers, crew or people on the ground despite debris falling onto the Indonesian island of Batam. The A380 was damaged sufficiently for the event to be classified as an accident. 

Flight simulator lovers can find this plane from Wilco A380 which is the best I recommend, there are options like the abacus A380 but none of these will be so appealing to the extremely experienced simmers. 

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Queen of the Skies Reborn

It’s the New Queen of the skies, it flies elegantly with its beautifully swept wings, much quieter than before, faster, more load, and much less fuel thirsty. It’s the Boeing 747-8. Modified from the original 747 frame, it is longer than its predecessor the 747-400 by 6.4meters and has a maximum takeoff weight of 987,000lb, cruising speed of Mach 0.855, this machine is ready to haul anything. 

Officially announced in 2005, the 747-8 is the fourth-generation Boeing 747 version, with lengthened fuselage, redesigned wings, and improved efficiency. The 747-8 is the largest 747 version, the largest commercial aircraft built in the United States, and the longest passenger aircraft in the world. 

It is offered in two main variants: the 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8I) for passengers and the 747-8 Freighter (747-8F) for cargo. The first 747-8F performed the model's maiden flight on February 8, 2010 with the 747-8 Intercontinental following on March 20, 2011. The intercontinental has a range of 8000nm, while the freighter has a range of 4390nm. Both Variants have orders of up-to 111 combined with the majority being the freighter. Lufthansa is the main customer for the intercontinental version and other airlines are weighing up options against the A380. 

The 747-8, as the current new development of Boeing's largest airliner, is notably in direct competition on long-haul routes with the Airbus A380, a full-length double decker aircraft now in service. For airlines seeking very large passenger airliners, the two have been pitched as competitors on various occasions. Boeing claims that the 747-8 is more than 10 percent lighter per seat and is to consume 11 percent less fuel per passenger than the A380, translating into a trip-cost reduction of 21 percent and a seat-mile cost reduction of over 6 percent. 

The planes are operated by the efficient GEnx-2B67 turbofans. The cockpit design remains the same for easy pilot training, however it features new advances like the electronic flight bag as found on the Boeing 777. It also has a moving map that shows the exact aircraft position on the ground. It is equipped with the latest navigation tools and requires only two personnel at the helm. Its wing was redesigned to improve the aerodynamics of the plane and also more carbon composites were used to make it lighter and stronger. All this, Boeing promises a better fuel efficiency when compared to its main competitor, the A380 even though Airbus declines those claims. Even though this aircraft might seem similar to the older 747-400s, it is 60% new and therefore very different in terms of capability and technology. 

The all new Boeing interior is featured in this plane, with the LED lighting that changes depending on the time to allow passengers to relax into the flight with a mood similar to the outside. New entertainment systems, cleaner air, quieter environment all promise a better flight experience aboard the new queen of the skies. 

The Flight simulator lovers will have a chance to experience this lovely plane using the PMDG 747-8i add-on that is professionally designed to meet the requirements of experienced simmers. Check it out at http://www.precisionmanuals.com/pages/product/748.html and welcome aboard. 

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The Boeing 787

It’s got the longest range for any aircraft in its class, it feels much quieter, it’s got higher humidity levels and better pressure levels that those using it for long routes won’t feel as much jet lag when compared to previous generation aircraft. 

The 787 program was launched in April 2004 with a record order from All-Nippon Airways of 50 pieces. It’s been a rough journey however, with more than three years of delays and billions in dollars of unanticipated costs, but now the innovative jetliner is starting to win awards and money for both Boeing and Airlines that have waited so long. The passengers love it before even boarding it, according to the airlines operating the 787, most passengers will book flights on the 787 just for the perfect travel experience. For the Flight simulator enthusiasts, this one will be a long wait for an add-on worth buying given software developments times of late.

This Plastic Beauty will virtually connect any two cities on this planet without refueling. The 787-8 Dreamliner will carry 210 - 250 passengers on routes of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles (14,200 to 15,200 kilometers), while the 787-9 Dreamliner will carry 250 - 290 passengers on routes of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (14,800 to 15,750 kilometers).

The 787 consumes 20% less fuel compared to older generation planes, and with over 800 orders, this is surely a success for Boeing. The task now remains as to how many planes they can deliver yearly. The key to the exceptional performance of the 787 Dreamliner is a suite of new technologies developed and applied on the airplane. Composite materials make up 50 percent of the primary structure of the 787 including the fuselage and wing. New engines from General Electric and Rolls-Royce are used on the 787. Advances in engine technology are the biggest contributor to overall fuel efficiency improvements. The new engines represent nearly a two-generation jump in technology for the middle of the market.

Below is the material breakdown on the 787.
- Composites - 50%
- Aluminum - 20%
- Titanium - 15%
- Steel - 10%
- Other - 5%

On its first flight with ANA, the plane got mixed reviews from the lucky passengers who managed to get hold of a ticket. Only 100 seats on the 264-seat jet were made available to the general public, and ANA received more than 25,000 applications for those. The other 140 on board were a mix of journalists, airline officials and other industry workers. Also among those 140: six business-class fliers who bid for their seats on Flight 7871 via auction. One passenger — Gino Bertuccio of Miami — paid more than $33,000 via that auction to get his spot on the inaugural flight. He also flew on the inaugural flight of the Airbus A380 in 2007.

The 787's closest competitor the A350 from airbus is suffering from development delays which is a boost to the smooth induction of the the 787. Of course the Airbus lovers can only sit back and wait their turn to rejoice but in the meantime, its Boeing's time. Will the A350 outdo the 787,that remains to be seen.

The ANA survey of 800 passengers flying the Dreamliner from Tokyo to Frankfurt found four in five believed the new aircraft's higher humidity levels met or exceeded expectations and 92 per cent said the cabin ambience was as good as or better than they expected. Air quality and cabin pressure met or exceeded expectations for nine in 10 passengers and four in 10 said headroom was better than expected.

The big windows met or exceeded the expectations of 90 per cent of passengers and passengers commented favorably on the aircraft’s electronic blinds, which can dim the windows by pressing button.

Air quality and cabin pressure met or exceeded expectations for nine in 10 passengers and four in 10 said headroom was better than expected.

The big windows met or exceeded the expectations of 90 per cent of passengers and passengers commented favorably on the aircraft’s electronic blinds, which can dim the windows by pressing button.

Four in 10 of those surveyed had chosen the flight because it was on a Dreamliner and 98 per cent said they would fly it again. Only 12 per cent had not heard of the plane before they got on board.

So will the glowing reviews of the 787 hold up as the Dreamliner's passenger counts soar and as more airlines begin to fly the jet — possibly in less customer-friendly configurations than Boeing had envisioned? In the end, though, how the plane is received will mostly come down to the way its operators tailor and customize the experience.


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