South Africa Welcome the Airbus A380

Posted on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:49:42 GMT

The morning of the 17th of February 2010 was not only an exciting day for all aircraft enthusiasts the world over but also, especially, for those in South Africa. It was a landmark occasion, a day that would go down in the annals of aviation history – of South Africa’s in any event - as it was the dawn of the day on which the world’s biggest passenger airliner, the Airbus A 380 was due to land at Oliver Tambo International Airport (FAJS), situated on the outskirts of the city of Johannesburg, in the suburb of Kempton Park.

From early on the people started congregating at OR Tambo, in the hope that they would catch a glimpse of the behemoth of the skies as it made its final approach to runway 03R.

The morning was hazy, not altogether the usual clear mornings, as they usually are, here in Johannesburg.

At about 10h57 a hush fell across the expectant crowd as the whisper of jet engines reverberated off the airport buildings and then suddenly there she was F-HPJB , Air France’s A380 flagship on finals, with clearance to land, the sight was breathtaking as never before had anyone seen such a giant, weighing more than 600 tonnes, in her airborne state.

At exactly 10h58 (local time) the first of the 20 main landing gear wheels left their mark on the tarmac and just as suddenly she was down with full reverse thrusters and airbrakes in motion she came to a stop well within the required runway length and the 442 passengers she was carrying from her departure airport Charles de Gaulle in Paris France the previous evening, were in the Country hosting the Fifa World Cup.

She was received with the correct pomp and ceremony and a warm African welcome!

We must not forget that the authorities, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) spent a fortune in renovating the main runways and tarmac to accommodate this giant. They even extended and renovated terminal A so that it could handle the large volume of passenger traffic which these massive aircraft would bring.

Air France A380 on taxi-way

For you statistics enthusiasts this particular aircraft is configured with 538 seats in three cabin classes – La Première (First), Affaires (Business) and Voyageur (Economy).

She is a unique aircraft as her cabin size; even in economy class is huge and her sheer size dwarfs every other aircraft type around her. Her fuselage length is shorter than her wing span, quite unlike the A340 series which is more longitudinal, in shape.

The on board systems are very similar if not identical to those of the A340-500/600 series. With the joystick on the side console and a predominantly glass cockpit replacing the analogue displays of days gone by – even though some analogue displays are present for backup in the unlikely event of a systems failure.

Airbus A380 Specs

Manufacturer: Airbus
Engines: Four Rolls-Royce Trent 970 - 70,000 lb, 311 kN.
Length: 239 ft 3 in, 73 m
Wingspan: 261 ft 8 in, 79, 8 m
Height: 79 ft 7 in, 25, 3 m
Max. Speed: Mach .89, 677, 46mph, 1090, 26km/h
Max Takeoff Weight: 1,235,000 lbs, 560 186,57695kgs
Payload: 145,500 lb, 66,400 kg
Fuel Capacity: 81,900 Gallons, 310 025.225 litres
Range: 8,000 NM, 14 816km

I have included these specs for the technically minded amongst you but have derogated from the essence of this article and that is to finally see the largest passenger airliner in service over African Skies.

Air France, I believe, is scheduled to commence with their flight itinerary to Johannesburg from Paris, France at the end of April 2010 with initially 3 flights per week.

Let’s not forget that, numerous carriers have ordered these magnificent aircraft and very soon it is my belief that they will be as common a sight, in our skies as the Boeing 747’s of yester year, even though some carriers still use the 747-400’s as part of their fleet.

I conclude by wishing the A380 a warm Aviation welcome, fair weather and clear skies on all her flights.

This article was composed by resident aviation news editor Costa Vranas.

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