The A380 receives joint certification from EASA and
FAA
12 December 2006
The signing of the A380 type certificate was a very formal
occasion, yet the mood in the large hall was festive. Against the
backdrop of a floodlit A380, a succession of speakers highlighted
this was a major milestone not only for the A380 and for Airbus,
but also for the history of aviation.
Louis Gallois, Airbus President and CEO, stated: "The A380 is the
largest civil airliner and the first full passenger double-decker
ever developed and certified. It will make history in this century.
From a technical point of view, we can now confirm that it is
meeting - or even exceeding - expectations in terms of performance,
range, environmental friendliness and cabin comfort. The support of
our customers is the best evidence that this product will become
the flagship in many airline fleets."
The A380 certification is the first to be jointly completed by the
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA). "Our co-operation on the A380 should
be an example for future projects," said EASA Executive Director
Patrick Goudou.
A feeling echoed by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey: "What brings
us here is an example of superb co-operation among Airbus, EASA and
the FAA... An example of what happens when there's a resolution to
get the job done."
"Today we write another chapter in aviation history with the joint
certification of the A380 by the European and U.S. airworthiness
authorities EASA and FAA," said Alain Garcia, Airbus Executive
Vice-President Engineering, who received the certificates from
Patrick Goudou and Marion Blakey.
"The A380 is not only the most spacious civil aircraft ever built,
but it is also the most advanced - representing a unique technology
platform from which all of our future aircraft programmes will
evolve," said Alain Garcia.
The spirit of the occasion was summed up by Marion Blakey: "The
size of this aircraft is indicative of just how big dreams can
be... When you bring great minds together, safety is the natural
by-product. And safety, after all, is what gives man wings to
fly."
Notes to Editors:
The A380 test programme started with systems testing in 2001,
structural testing in November 2004 and structural fatigue testing
in September 2005. This then led to one of the most extensive
certification flight test programmes in the history of Airbus,
marked with the first flight on 27th April 2005 and ending on 30th
November 2006 with the successful around the globe technical
route-proving trip, which took the aircraft over both poles,
testing the aircrafts performance under normal airline
operations.
The flight tests have been designed to assess the general handling
qualities of the aircraft, operational performance, airfield noise
as well as systems operation, in normal mode, failure cases and
extreme conditions. For the extreme weather trials Airbus has taken
the aircraft from the cold of Northern Canada, to the desert heat
of the Gulf and hot and high altitudes of Ethiopia & Colombia
where it yielded excellent results and in many cases surpassed its
design targets.
Further flight tests for certification purposes have been dedicated
to water ingestion trials; low speed take-off tests (VMU trials);
flutter; and rejected take off and landings. In addition to a
number of wake vortex trials required for certification, Airbus has
performed and continues to perform a large series of tests and
measurements in this area. These tests have been designed to gather
data to support recommendations by the A380 Wake Vortex Steering
Group made to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
regarding safe wake vortex separation criteria for aircraft
following an A380 for various flight conditions.
In addition to flight test success, further highlights have
included airport compatibility trials with a total of 38 airports
visited to date around the globe during which the ability to
operate the A380 in the same way as existing large aircraft has
been demonstrated.
The A380 cabin also underwent a series of tests for certification,
including the successful evacuation test, performed at Airbus'
Hamburg site, Germany, on 26th March 2006. During this largest ever
aircraft evacuation trial 853 passengers and 20 crew members left
the aircraft within 78 seconds - 12 seconds less than required,
validating 853 as the maximum passenger seating capacity, for the
A380-800.
Although not required for certification, but part of Airbus'
commitment to smooth entry into service, Airbus undertook a series
of four Early Long Flights in September 2006 where over 2000 Airbus
employees took part to assess the cabin environment and systems in
flight. These followed a 15 hour Virtual Long Flight, that took
place in May 2006 in Hamburg, where 474 Airbus employees tested
cabin systems in simulated long haul conditions.
http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/12_12_06_A380_EASA_FAA_Ceritifcation.html