AIRBUS A380

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus. The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a cabin with 50% more floor space than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400, and provides seating for 525 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration. Using the most advanced technologies, the A380 is also designed to have 10-15 % more range, lower fuel burn and emissions, and less noise. The A380 is offered in passenger and freighter versions. Airbus used similar cockpit layout, procedures and handling characteristics to those of other Airbus aircraft, to reduce crew training costs. Accordingly, the A380 features an improved glass cockpit, and fly-by-wire flight controls linked to side-sticks. The improved cockpit displays feature eight 15-by-20 cm (6-by-8-inch) liquid crystal displays, all of which are physically identical and interchangeable. These MFDs ( Multi-Function Displays) are new with the A380, and provide an easy-to-use interface to the flight management system—replacing three multifunction control and display units. Whilst most of the fuselage is aluminium, composite materials make up 25% of the A380's airframe, by weight. Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, glass-fibre reinforced plastic and quartz-fibre reinforced plastic are used extensively in wings, fuselage sections, tail surfaces, and doors. The A380 produces 50% less cabin noise than a 747 and has higher cabin air pressure both features are expected to reduce the effects of travel fatigue. The upper and lower decks are connected by two stairways, fore and aft, wide enough to accommodate two passengers side-by-side. In a 555-passenger configuration, the A380 has 33% more seats than a 747-400 in a standard three-class configuration but 50% more cabin area and volume, resulting in more space per passenger. Its maximum certified carrying capacity is 853 passengers in an all-economy-class configuration.

Specifications:
Cockpit crew: Two
Seating capacity: 525 (3-class), 644 (2-class), 853 (1-class)
Length: 73 m (239 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 79.8 m (261 ft 10 in)
Height: 24.1 m (79 ft 1 in)
Maximum cruising speed: Mach 0.89
Engines: 4xGP7270 (A380-861)
4x Trent 970/B (A380-841)
4x Trent 972/B (A380-842)