Birth of the largest commercial aircraft

1. The Airbus A380 • Birth of the largest commercial aircraft • Airbus first began studies on a very large 500 seat airliner in the early 1990s. The European manufacturer saw developing a competitor and successor to the Boeing 747 as a strategic play to end Boeing's dominance of the very large airliner market and round out1 Airbus' product line-up2. • Features • The 555 seat, double deck Airbus A380 is the most ambitious civil aircraft program yet. When it enters service in March 2006, the A380 will be the world's largest airliner, easily eclipsing Boeing's 747. • The A380 features an advanced version of the Airbus common two crew3 cockpit, with pull-out4 keyboards for the pilots, extensive use of composite materials such as GLARE (an aluminium/glass fibre composite), and four 302 to 374kN (31 to 38 tonnes) class Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7200 turbofans now under development. • Several A380 models are planned: • A380-800: the basic aircraft (555 seat) • A380-800F: a freighter which will be able to carry a 150-tonne payload • A380-700: shortened version (480 seat) • A380-900: stretched version (656 seat) • The first flight took place in April 2005, and the entry into commercial service, with Singapore Airlines, is scheduled5 for March 2006. • Technical innovations • Materials • The new material GLARE is used in the upper fuselage and on the stabilizers' leading edges. This aluminium-glass-fibre laminate6 is lighter and has better corrosion and impact resistance than conventional aluminium alloys7 used in aviation. • Power-by-wire flight controls • Power-by-wire8 flight controls actuators9 are used for the first time in civil service. They function as ultimate flight control backups for the A380. They can also help the primary flight controls during certain manoeuvres. They have self-contained10 hydraulic and electrical power supplies. • Electrical generation • The A380 uses four 150kVA variable-frequency generators. The A380 uses aluminium power cables instead of copper for greater weight savings11 due to the number of cables used for aircraft of this size and complexity. • The electrical power system is fully computerized and many contactors and breakers have been replaced by solid-state devices12 for better performance and increased reliability.

3. Vocabulary List • 1 To round out: to complete • 2 Line-up: list • 3 Two crew: the pilot and the copilot • 4 Pull out: escamotable • 5 scheduled: prepared for the given date • 6 laminate: laminé • 7 alloy: alliage • Fly-By-Wire (FBW) • All cables and mechanical systems are replaced by electronic transducters and computers operate electrically controlled valves which in turn moves the different control surfaces. The computers can be programmed to respect the limits of the aircraft, stabilize it and carry out the intention of the pilot, even if the plane is damaged (Intelligent Fly By Wire). The Concorde was the first aircraft to use it. • 8 Power-By-Wire (PBW) • The next step to FBW, is to replace the different heavy hydraulic systems by electrical power system. These power systems power electrical or self-contained10 electrohydraulic actuators9. These systems operate the flaperons, horizontal tails, and rudder. • 9 Actuator: actionneur • 10 self-contained: integrated • 11 savings: economy • 12 solid state devices: semiconductors