At 3.45 pm,on Wednesday 8th May 2007,the Big Jumbo Jets parked at Mumbai's Chattrapathi Shivaji International Airport looked like like Lilliputians coz the BIG JUMBO had arrived in Town...Airbus A380....
Airbus A380,the world's most modern superjumbo that can seat up to 850 passengers in a twin-deck format,with its massive albatross like wings brusting out of the runway, touched down at the airport for the first time and came to a halt in 15 seconds flat...
It was just one of the many things that the super jumbo did during its 1-hr-35-minute maiden flight from Delhi to Mumbai to prove that it was in a different league altogether....
As it passed through the Mumbai skies people just moved out of their houses, offices to have a glimpse of this mammoth metal bird...
The 555-seater super jumbo is considered to be a flying wonder by many and is on maiden flying to India as part of second anniversary of Kingfisher Airlines.
Fifteen minutes before landing, Capt Jean Micheal Roy and Capt Ed Strangman, the Airbus test pilots, did an impressive 500 ft low-fly past over the Mumbai airport runway, reduced the touch-down speed to 140 knots—the speed that 140-seater A320s operate at—and then came back to visually land the 555-seater behemoth carrier. It landed with a great thud, which shook the aircraft briefly. But then, in what seemed like a complete disregard for laws of physics, the aircraft’s 22 wheels came to a halt in 15 seconds flat...
There was still a lot of runway length left and the pilots had made their point...
The passengers inside the Jumbo got to inspect the high roofed cabins, massive overhead bins (capacity 50 kg for two passengers, which means hand baggages on A380s could be as big as your check-in baggage), mini bar, comparatively large economy seats, upper deck etc. “One cannot escape the sense of space inside this aircraft,’’ said Parimita Singha, a passenger.
With a remarkably silent cabin, 22 big fat tyres and 500 km of wiring inside, the A380 is truly a giant. It burns 17 per cent less fuel per seat than today's largest aircraft.
It burns 2.9 litres of fuel per passenger per 100 km, the A380 is also billed as a fuel-efficient aircraft, comparing well with a family car that uses six litres of fuel for a 100 km run and It can land using less runway length than a Boeing B747-800 jumbo does.
The flying machine can hold 3,10,000 litres (81,890 gallons) of fuel, has a wingspan of 261.8 feet (79.8 metres), a length of 239.5 feet (73 metres) and a maximum take-off weight of more than 5,40,000 kg (1.2 million pounds).The plane has a maximum range of 15,000 km, sufficient to fly from Chicago to Sydney nonstop, and a cruising speed of 900 km per hour.
The A380 has 50% more floor space than the Boeing 747-400, the second largest passenger aircraft. It is set to challenge the B747's long dominance of the jumbo jet market.
“
In an all economy-class configuration, the A380 can fly 853 seats. On the Mumbai-Delhi route with full load, the cost of transporting a passenger will be half of what it would cost for a road journey from Mumbai to Delhi,’’said Kiran Rao, executive vice-president (marketing and contracts), Airbus
Though the aircraft is made for long haul flights, there were ample hints that it could be compatible to the lowcost airline model and could do point-to-point flights on short routes as well economically.
Kingfisher is the only Indian carrier that has placed order for this aircraft and it is supposed to receive its first aircraft in 2011 also one more airline in India has decided to place an order for A380 but details have not been divulged.
The aircraft is in Mumbai till Thursday afternoon...
So wat U waiting for get ur Cameras and Off to the Airport...
More Pics of the BIG Jumbo...!!!
Big Jumbo in Town..!!!
Re: Big Jumbo in Town..!!!
