Related: The Cranky Flier’s Look at the A380, Airbus A380: More Passengers Means More Toilets, and Touring the Airbus A380.
[via cynical-c]
By announcing plans to build a plane that can carry more than 150 people, China has officially become a competitor of Boeing and Airbus. The larger jets won’t be finished until 2020 at the earliest, but the China Aviation Industry Corporation has already started building a smaller, regional plane that can carry up to 105 people.
Increased wealth in China has made flying a more viable means of travel for it’s citizens. In light of the air travel boom, the country will need to purchase an estimated 2,230 planes before 2025. Thus, according to the State Council, China’s firms are committed to constructing an “internationally competitive product” that can take a share of the market.
With mass production on the mid-size ARJ-21 regional jet set to begin later this year, it sounds like it won’t be long before you’ll be flying on Chinese-built planes when you travel within the country.
The Airbus A380 is truly a marvel of modern engineering. Not only is it the largest airliner in the world, but it is also the most advanced. Engineers crafted each system with meticulous detail from the fly-by-wire systems to the… toilets?
Yes, I’ll admit that plumbing wasn’t my first consideration when ogling pictures of the enormous plane, but it certainly was a chief concern for the company. Frank Dohrmann, an Airbus lead engineer, told journalists that customers won’t care about a small temperature variance, but “if the toilets get jammed, every passenger will remember it for years.” I know I certainly would. In fact, it would be my first Gadling post once I landed.
3,280ft of water and waste pipes are housed within the 197ft frame of the A380. Sewage travels through the waste pipes at more than 60mph. This might seem like overkill, but the speed is required to support the 18 toilets for up to 800 passengers. Now, that’s a lot of poop. Not impressed yet? How about this — the plumbing is also capable of supporting showers. Fancy!
I hope, with all of these toilets, the Airbus A380 has an air freshener system that’s just as advanced.
Related: Howstuffworks – How does the toilet in a commercial airliner work?
Gadling blogged about Airbus’ flagship plane A380 before. Looks like we are going to have to wait six more months before Airbus deliverers their first A380. The first plane was supposed to have been delivered to Qantas in October 2006, but Airbus pushed it back to April 2007. Qantas is “disappointed.”
Interestingly enough, none of the American airlines have expressed real interest in the A380. According to BBC, among the biggest customers so far are Emirates (43 planes ordered), Lufthansa (15) and Qantas (12).
Timing aside, does Qantas honestly need planes that fit 800 people? Will they be flying the entire population of Australia back and forth every time they fly this thing? Does anyone need a plane to fit that many people? The prospect of boarding 800 people in a timely fashion scares me. I can just imagine it now: “Now boarding passengers in rows 120-140…”
Wasn’t this plane supposed to make flying easier?
A couple of months ago, Adrienne Wilson let us know that the Airbus 380, the largest jumbo jet built to date, had passed its safety evacuation test. Well, now, thanks to the Times Online, journalist Martin Symington gives a sneak preview of what the A380 is like inside — and man, is it impressive. The article has a list of astounding statistics, like:
Amazing vessel. Not surprisingly, my buddy, Sir Richard Branson, has already gone on record suggesting that the Virgin Airlines Airbus A380 “might have on-board gyms, showers, beauty parlours and casinos, not to mention double beds in private cabins.”
Dude. If I ever get a Virgin ticket on one of these things, they may never get me off of it.