You know the Airbus A-380 is so huge it takes 2 hours to load and unload and that is if you are rushing the people on and off like cattle. The aircraft holds more fuel than a Boeing 727 weighs. As a matter of fact it has more water on board for the toilets than the fuel in a Boeing 737. Enormous aircraft indeed, but there are many draw backs some you do not even want to think about; for instance it is a prime target for International Terrorists, if they are able to bring one down, they will be very proud of themselves. Luckily an aircraft that big is not coming down with one little surface to air missile unless it hits in exactly the right spot. Another huge issue is most airports are to small to take the aircraft. The wingspan is so large it sticks out past the width of the runway and when it rotates for take off the wing tip vortices will dig trenches in the ground. Aircraft taking off behind it will need to wait 5 minutes instead of 3-minute separation due to amount of air it will move from the wing tip vortices, enough to flip a little business get right over in flight. Or put a hell of a scare into a normal size airliner. Remember the crash in NY when the Airbus took off behind the loaded 747 Cargo Plane and lost its tail as it closed the distance gap. Sure there was some pilot error involved, always is, but you see the problem. The massive aircraft also takes a lot of room to turn around, a lot of runway is needed for safety and can you imagine the congestion out front the terminal when that many folks deplane? Anyway, just because you build a huge aircraft does not mean it is the best choice. We shall see what happens, the gamble by Airbus may pay off, or this could be one of the biggest disasters in aviation history since the Comet or the Concorde a few years back. Think on it, the aviation community is as the world waits for an additional six month delay now. |
