Testing Airbus A380

the first completed a380 @ a380 reveal event in toulouse, france, 18 january 2005



a380 prototype on maiden flight

five a380s built testing , demonstration purposes. first a380, registered f-wwow, unveiled in toulouse 18 january 2005. first flew on 27 april 2005. plane, equipped rolls-royce trent 900 engines, flew toulouse–blagnac airport crew of 6 headed chief test pilot jacques rosay. rosay said flying a380 had been handling bicycle .

on 1 december 2005, a380 achieved maximum design speed of mach 0.96, (its design cruise speed mach 0.85) in shallow dive. in 2006, a380 flew first high-altitude test @ addis ababa bole international airport. conducted second high-altitude test @ same airport in 2009. on 10 january 2006, flew josé maría córdova international airport in colombia, accomplishing transatlantic testing, , went el dorado international airport test engine operation in high-altitude airports. arrived in north america on 6 february 2006, landing in iqaluit, nunavut in canada cold-weather testing.

flight test engineer s station on lower deck of a380 f-wwow

on 14 february 2006, during destructive wing strength certification test on msn5000, test wing of a380 failed @ 145% of limit load, short of required 150% level. airbus announced modifications adding 30 kg (66 lb) wing provide required strength. on 26 march 2006, a380 underwent evacuation certification in hamburg. 8 of 16 exits arbitrarily blocked, 853 mixed passengers , 20 crew exited darkened aircraft in 78 seconds, less 90 seconds required certification. 3 days later, a380 received european aviation safety agency (easa) , united states federal aviation administration (faa) approval carry 853 passengers.

the first a380 using gp7200 engines—serial number msn009 , registration f-wwea—flew on 25 august 2006. on 4 september 2006, first full passenger-carrying flight test took place. aircraft flew toulouse 474 airbus employees on board, in test of passenger facilities , comfort. in november 2006, further series of route-proving flights demonstrated aircraft s performance 150 flight hours under typical airline operating conditions. of 2014, a380 test aircraft continue perform test procedures.

airbus obtained type certificates a380-841 , a380-842 model easa , faa on 12 december 2006 in joint ceremony @ company s french headquarters, receiving icao code a388. a380-861 model obtained type certificate on 14 december 2007.