A380 - Le Géant des Airs - Documentaire

Video from the channel - French Air Force & Co - about Airbus A380, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 52:22. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.

A French documentary about the manufacturing of the Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft. It follows the journey of its large components across Europe, from the factories where they are built to final assembly in Toulouse, and adds interviews with test pilots, technicians and an industry analyst, plus a visit to a cabin mock-up and a flight simulator.

The first flight took place on 27 April 2005 at Toulouse-Blagnac, with Jacques Rosay at the controls. According to the pilot, the aircraft was very easy to fly despite its size. The industrial workshare reflects the Airbus consortium: each partner country receives a workload proportional to its stake. Thus the United Kingdom builds the wings, Germany fuselage sections, and Spain the horizontal stabiliser and the rear section. According to the analyst interviewed, a software incompatibility between France and Germany caused years of delay and political tensions; he estimates that between 400 and 450 deliveries would be needed for the program to turn a profit. Airbus invested €12 billion.

The aircraft has an 80 m wingspan and is about 73 m long. It can carry up to 853 passengers and fly 15,000 km nonstop. The wings are assembled in Broughton (Wales), where more than 1,200 employees work in a dedicated plant. Each wing carries 37 km of cables. They travel by road, by barge along the river Dee and then by ship to France. From Getafe, section 19 leaves aboard a Beluga. The radome and the engine air intakes are made in Nantes. The parts then arrive in night convoys that cover around 240 km of road, passing through towns such as Lévignac. In Toulouse, assembly takes place at a plant covering more than 50 hectares. The engines are from Rolls-Royce and Engine Alliance. Certification required more than 2,600 flight hours, with tests at -30°C in Canada, in extreme heat in the UAE, and minimum takeoff speed trials at Istres. The paint is applied in Hamburg: around 3,000 litres, adding 530 kg. The maximum takeoff weight is 560 tonnes, and carbon fibre accounts for 25% of the aircraft.