Airbus Showing Slice of a Behemoth With A380 Superjumbo Cross-Section

The first Airbus A380 superjumbo is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2004, with first customer delivery in 2006, but Airbus has brought a walk-in slice of one to the show so we can all try it on for size.

It's one of four symbolic cross-sections of the company's aircraft families-the A300/310, the best-selling A320, the A330/340, and the A380-all fully fitted with audiovisual presentations on the Airbus stand.

As far as the outside world perceives, following the fanfare for 62 firm orders and 54 confirmed options, the great aircraft has disappeared up a big black hole.

But Charles Champion, senior VP of the A380 program, will throw some light into it.

The A380 is the first aircraft for which the now fully integrated and autonomous Airbus has been able to establish a completely coordinated program structure across Europe.

The early part of this year has been spent putting integrated management teams in place for the component parts of the aircraft, in procurement, product support, logistics, engineering and manufacturing.

Investment in new building construction has been implemented in Hamburg where, after its final assembly in Toulouse, the new aircraft will be flown for cabin outfitting and painting.

Planning of the long lead work for tooling and forging is now under way, prior to the first metal being cut for the aircraft itself at the end of next year.

Airbus has meanwhile been talking with prospective industrial partners worldwide to take on up to 40% of the risk-sharing in the enterprise, as well as component manufacturing. According to the public timetable, most of these contracts should now have been allocated.

Goodrich Aerospace' responsibility for main landing gear systems and Messier-Dowty's production of the nose landing gear have so far been disclosed.

In February, Rolls-Royce formally launched the Trent 900, which is the lead engine for the joint certification program. To date it has been chosen by the first three launch customers, with the fourth, Air France, opting for the GE-P&W Alliance GP7000.

With major airframe sections being built and part-fitted at Airbus and risk-sharing partners' centers round Europe, such as fuselage sections in Hamburg, BAE Systems' wing assemblies at Broughton in the UK, and tail sections by APU in Spain, their transportation for final assembly in Toulouse is a major consideration.

The Beluga transporters are not big enough for most of these massive airframe sections, so Airbus is negotiating tenders for a number of purpose-built ships, river barges and road transporters.

So while the new Airbus A340-600, Beluga, A300 freighter and two ACJ corporate jets will be showing us in Le Bourget what Airbus has already achieved, we can also expect to hear more of the nuts and bolts of bringing the A380 into being.