.. The
Emirates'
123rd
.A380 aircraft, the
33rd of the type
A380-842, MSN
272, reg.
A6-EVS, test reg. F-WWSH, with the
484 seats, cabin configuration
F14 C76 W56 Y338 and powered by four
.Trent 972B-84, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 2.946,4 mm / 116,0 in; BPR: (8,5-8,7):1; engine architecture:
1F–8IPC=6HPC〨1HPT=1IPT–5LPT), OPR: 39,0:1, each rated at 356,81 kN / 36.384 kgf / 80.214 lbf, was delivered to
EK/UAE on 16. Dec 2021, flying on the route
XFW -
DXB (FLT UAE5GT).
....The aircraft first flew on 17. March 2021. This is the
251st and the last delivered
Airbus A380 aircraft. The first
A380 was delivered on 12. Oct 2007 to
Singapore Airlines (
SQ/SIA).
..……On the
Skyliner..……....The aircraft departed
Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW/EDHI) on 16. Dec 2021, 15:41 UTC and landed at
Dubai International Airport (DXB/OMDB) on 16. Dec 2021, 23:03 UTC.
..….. …..Emirates’ Airbus A380-842; MSN 276, reg. A6-EVS - delivery flight UAE5GT.. ..The first
90..A380 aircraft delivered to
Emirates were of the type
A380-861, powered by four
.GP7270, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 116,0 in / 2.946,4 mm; BPR: 8,8:1; eng. architecture:
1F+5LPC–9HPC〧2HPT–6LPT), OPR: 36,1:1, each rated at 332,44 kN / 33.899 kgf / 74.735 lbf.
..…………..…………..Airbus A380 - deliveries by the engine factory ....In 14 years of the production
.A380 was delivered to 14 different airlines. Of the
251 delivered
Airbus A380 aircraft,
130 (51,8 %) were powered by
.GP7200, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines and
121 (48,2 %) aircraft by
.Trent 900, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (graph above).
..……….……….Airbus A380 - deliveries by the airlines....……….……….Airbus A380 - deliveries 2007-2010.. …………..…………..Airbus A380 - deliveries 2011-2012.. ………………………………Airbus A380 - deliveries 2013-2014.. ………………….………………….Airbus A380 - deliveries 2015-2016.. ……………………..……………………..Airbus A380 - deliveries 2017-2021.. ..Emirates outfited their last six
Airbus A380s with the four-class configured cabins with
484 seats. The upper deck features
14.First Class private suites, now slightly wider with the taller doors, for even more privacy and comfort, in a 1-2-1 configuration. These suites feature 32-in monitors and a variety of storage options. In addition, at the rear of the upper deck there are
76.Business Class seats, refreshed to feature champagne-coloured leather covers and wood finishing, inspired by executive jets, in a 1-2-1 configuration. These seats don’t feature a door and have an 23-in IFE screens with direct aisle access. At the front of the main deck there are
56.Premium Economy Class, 19,5-in wide seats, in a 2-4-2 configuration. These seats are similar to those of the Business Class, with a 13,3-in monitors and up to 40 inches of pitch. At the rear of the main deck there are
338.Economy Class ergonomically designed seats, in a 3-4-3 configuration, that come with full leather headrests and flexible side panels which can be adjusted vertically for optimum support, with the 13,3-in monitors. Following the trend of the other airlines,
EK’s economy class have 32-34 inches.
.. ..Intending to breathe some new life into their largest aircraft, at the Paris Air Show 2017 (
PAS 2017)
Airbus SE launched the
A380plus development study. The study was packing several improvements to the
.Airbus A380 aircraft, aimed at increasing the capacity and lowering the cost per passenger. The idea was to offer the advantages of an
A380neo without changing the engines. The
A380plus program was also including a more effecient wing than the original one. The
A380 has a wing of advanced design aerodynamically. The wing profile and high lift arrangements are state of the art, but the 80,0 m / 262,5 ft maximum width box forced a relatively low wingspan compared to the aircraft's size and weight. This gave the
A380's wing an aspect ratio of 7,5, a low value. Just for the comparison;
Airbus A350 has an aspect ratio of 9,5. The
Airbus A380plus'
split winglet (an uplet of 3,5 m / 11,5 ft and a downlet of 1,2 m / 3,9 ft), as a part of the
aerodynamics changes to the
A380's wings, improves the effective aspect ratio of the wing to 8,4 by changing the pressure distribution of the wing outwards. In total, the aerodynamic changes would enable a slightly higher MTOW (578.000 kg / 1.274.272 lb) and improve the fuel consumption on long flights by 4 %. The improvement would allow the higher capacity
A380plus to fly
80 passengers more at the same range as the standard
A380 or fly the same passenger payload at 556 km / 300 nm
increased range.
.. ..The cabin improvements of the
A380plus study was including and
3-5-3 seating layout in the Economy Class cabin. Personally, I didn't like that idea at all and as such it was immediately dismissed in my head. What I believed at the time was that the cabins of some airliners'
A380s, aimed for a certain destinations and the goals, could be filled in a very polite, comfortable and humane way in a single-class economy configuration
Y747. The cabin configuration of the
A380 aircraft with the largest number of the seats is that of
Emirates' 2-class cabin with
615 seats, with
C58 Y557 cabin configuration. The
A380-800's original configuration carried
525 passengers in a three-class configuration or
853 passengers (538 on the main deck and 315 on the upper deck) in a single-class economy configuration
Y853. Otherwise, the
A380-800 is certified for up to
868 passengers (538 on the main deck and 330 on the upper) in a single-class economy configuration
Y868.
.. ..The other thing are engines. The installation of the new engine type of the engines was not envisaged within the
A380plus project. I wished this project was developed under the codename
A380plus neo with conducted feasibility study and the cost and benefit analysis or at least the short multidisciplinary approached presentation, backed up with some calculations of the
.Airbus A380 aircraft powered by four
.Trent XWB, 3-shaft, high-bypass turbofans, otherwise intended for
A350-900, long-range, wide-body, twin-engined, jet airliner, just to find out if the
Airbus A380's wings are strong and solid enough or would need some accessories, strengthening by adding the structural reinforcements and wings' joins to support the added weight of
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines or just a (slightly) modified pylons. The weight difference between the
Trent XWB (7.277 kg / 16.043 lb) engine and one of the engines already offered on
A380 -
Engine Alliance GP7200 (6.712 kg / 14.798 lb) is about 500 kg. This is approximately the difference in between the masses of the engines installed on
A320ceo and
A320neo aircraft. Besides, I was interested to learn what the fuel and possible maintenance costs savings would the installation of those engines, instead of the existing
.GP7200, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines or
.Trent 900, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines, bring to the airlines. Although I can't back it up with some data and calculations, I am sure
Airbus A380's wings are more than sufficiently strong and solid enough and would need no added structure to support the added weight of
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines but just a modified pylons. Since those engines are also more fuel efficient than those currently installed, it is not hard to calculate how much less fuel this aircraft would need to reach the same destinations. I am sure the necessary fuel weight difference would be much bigger than is the difference in between the weight of four
GP7200, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofans or four
Trent 900, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofans on the one and four
Trent XWB, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofans on the other side.
.. ……………………Airbus A380 - the engines.. …I can't remember if the factory has ever come out with an official statement that
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines are too heavy for
Airbus A380 aircraft. The fact is they just couldn't see the business model in reengining the aircraft by those engines. During the 2017 Paris Air Show (PAS) Mr. Fabrice Brégier has said that there is '
no business case for the Trent XWBs on Airbus A380 and that Airbus A380neo will have to wait for the next generation of the engine technology '…
.. …The
Trent XWB-84 EP (Enhanced Performance) engine went beyond the original
Trent XWB-84’s performance target levels, offering a fuel consumption improvement of 1 %. The
Trent XWB-84 EP incorporates technologies from the higher thrust
Trent XWB-97 engine, the
Advance3 engine programme and the other future technology research.
.. …..…..Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine uder the wing of Airus A380-841 testbed, MSN 001, reg. F-WWOW.. …..... interesting to note that the family of
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines (excluding
Trent XWB-97 model) covers the thrust range in between 330,06 kN / 33.657 kgf / 74.200 lbf and 374,54 kN / 38.192 kgf / 84.200 lbf, almost the same as the
Rolls-Royce.Trent 900 family of the engines with the thrust range in between 334,29 kN / 34.088 kgf / 75.152 lbf and 374,09 kN / 38.147 kgf / 84.098 lbf and this is the main reason why were
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines mentioned as a possible replacement for the existing
Rolls-Royce Trent 900s or
Engine Alliance GP7200s. While being more fuel efficient, more reliable, much more robust, more sophisticated and thermally efficient, in the same time
Trent XWB is also a heavier engine than the
Trent 900. Heavier - yes, but too heavy - no, not at all…
.. ..Rolls-Royce Trent XWB, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engine (fan diameter: 2.997,2 mm / 118,0 in; BPR: 9,6:1; engine architecture: 1F–8IPC=6HPC
〨1HPT=2IPT–6LPT), OPR: 50,0:1 and
Rolls-Royce Trent 900, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engine (fan diameter: 2.946,4 mm / 116,0 in; BPR: 8,5-8,7:1; engine architecture: 1F–8IPC=6HPC
〨1HPT=1IPT–5LPT), OPR: 39,0:1 are, as seen, of the different architectures, and indicative is the fact that the
Trent XWB engine has per one stage more at both IPT and LPT sections. Wherefore? In the order to make the engine more propulsive efficient and specifically tailored to the need of using on the completely new aircraft -
.A350,
Rolls-Royce's engineers had to increase the mass flow through its 2.997,2 mm / 118 in wide fan, and which then required more propulsive power. This power was obtained with the increased mass flow of the gases through the engine's core that has received per one stage more on both IPT (2-stage) and LPT (6-stage) sections.
Trent 900 engine has 1-stage IPT and 5-stage LPT.
.. …..Although the
.A380plus aircraft, powered by four
.Trent XWB-84 (
XWB-79B), 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 2.997,2mm / 118,0 in; BPR: 9,6:1; engine architecture: 1F–8IPC=6HPC
〨1HPT=2IPT–6LPT), OPR: 50,0:1, each rated at 374,54 kN / 38.192 kgf / 84.200 lbf (350,96 kN / 35.788 kgf / 78.900 lbf) probably wouldn't be a perfect aircraft, it would by all means represent a significant step forward in the comparison with the existing one. Unfortunately, not a sufficiently worthwhile and economically viable step. So they said …
.. ..It would be interesting if we could have seen if it would bring any benefits and precedences to
Emirates to operate the same type of the engine,
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84, on their
Airbus A380-800s and the future
Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The first of the
A350s for
Emirates is scheduled to deliver in May 2023. It will mark
Emirates' return as an operator of
Airbus twin-engined jets, having retired its last
A330-200s in 2016.
.. …..Would those engines be too powerful for
Airbus A380? One of the model of the
Airbus A380 aircraft
Emirates and
Qantas does operate -
Airbus A380-842, are already powered by more powerful version of the certified version of
Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine for
A380 and this is
Trent 972B-84, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 2.946,4 mm / 116,0 in; BPR: 8,7:1; engine architecture: 1F–8IPC=6HPC
〨1HPT=1IPT–5LPT), OPR: 39,0:1, rated at 356,81 kN / 36.384 kgf / 80.214 lbf. Besides there is a derated model of
Trent XWB engine -
Trent XWB-79B, rated at 350,96 kN / 35.788 kgf / 78.900 lbf, quite comparable to the
Trent 900 engine's model the most of the airlines, and whose aircraft are powered by
Rolls-Royce engines, use and this is
Trent 970B-84, rated at 348,31 kN / 35.518 kgf / 78.304 lbf.
.. ..All the
Airbus A380 aircraft powered by
Engine Alliance engines, type
.A380-861, have the same model of the engine -
.GP7270, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 2.946,4 mm / 116,0 in; BPR: 8,8:1; engine architecture: 1F+5LPC–9HPC
〧2HPT–6LPT), OPR: 43,9:1, rated at 332,44 kN / 33.899 kgf / 74.735 lbf, the value that match the thrust of the
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-75 engine rated at 330,06 kN / 33.657 kgf / 74.200 lbf. **
Japan Airlines is the first airline started to operate derated
A350-900 frames;
WV018 * Mod number
112498/
114858 (MTOW: 217.000 kg / 478.403 lb), powered by two
Trent XWB-75, 3-shaft, high-bypass turbofans.
.. ..The most powerful certified version of
Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine is
Trent 980-84, rated at 374,09 kN / 38.146 kgf / 84.098 lbf, once scheduled for a streched version of the aircraft -
Airbus A380-941, and this is almost identical value of the thrust of
Trent XWB-84, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engine, rated at 374,54 kN / 38.192 kgf / 84.200 lbf.
.. ..Howsoever it was, it seems too late now for this kind of discussions anymore. Once upon a time we have discussed all this very vividly on this forum. And that not only once ... All I know is I have wanted so much to see
.A380-844plus; MTOW (580.000 kg / 1.278.681 lb) aircraft, powered by four
.Trent XWB-84 EP, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 2.997,2mm / 118,0 in; BPR: 9,6:1; engine architecture: 1F–8IPC=6HPC
〨1HPT=2IPT–6LPT), OPR: 50,0:1, each rated at 374,54 kN / 38.192 kgf / 84.200 lbf, in a single-class economy cabin configuration
Y747 …
.. ………........And what would be the CASM of the
Emirates'
.A380plus neo; MTOW (580.000 kg / 1.278.681 lb) aircraft, powered by four
.Trent XWB-84, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines (fan diameter: 2.997,2mm / 118,0 in; BPR: 9,6:1; engine architecture:
1F–8IPC=6HPC〨1HPT=2IPT–6LPT), OPR: 50,0:1, each rated at 374,54 kN / 38.192 kgf / 84.200 lbf, in the
Emirates' 2-class cabin with
615 seats,
C58 Y557 cabin configuration, in the comparison with their future
.777-9; MTOW (351.534 kg / 775.000 lb), powered by two
.GE9X-105B1A, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engine (fan diameter: 3.403,6 mm / 134,0 in; BPR: 9,9:1; engine architecture:
1F+3LPC–11HPC〧2HPT–6LPT), OPR: 60,0:1, each rated at 489,30 kN / 49.895 kgf / 110.000 lbf, in a 2-class cabin with
414 seats,
C42 Y372 cabin configuration, we can only guess …
.. ..We've learned that there was 'no business case for the
Trent XWBs on
Airbus A380 and that '
Airbus A380neo will have to wait for the next generation of the engine technology' … I guess it doesn't worth anymore. Whether will, at some point of the availability of the next generation of the engines, someone conclude that there is a 'business case' of reengining of the still existing
A380 aircraft, it is very difficult to say at the moment. If anyone, then Emirates …
.. ..The next generation of the engine is
.UltraFan, ‘2,5'-shaft, high-bypass, geared, turbofan engine (fan diameter: 3.556,0 mm / 140,0 in; BPR: 15,0:1; gear ratio: 4,0:1; engine architecture:
1F-]PG[-3LPC–10HPC〧2HPT–4LPT), OPR: 70,0:1, rated at 387,0 kN / 39.463 kgf / 87.000 lbf. It represents 40 % increase in a fan area compared with
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB for
Airbus A350 and a 9 % increase on
General Electric GE9X for
Boeing 777X.
.. ..Key engineering features of the
UltraFan engine include:
..….● a new, proven,
Advance3 core architecture, combined with
ALECSys Lean Burn Combustion system, to deliver maximum fuel burn efficiency and low emissions
….● carbon titanium fan blades and a composite casing that reduce weight by up to 680 kg / 1.500 lb per aircraft
….● advanced ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components that operate more effectively in high pressure turbine (HPT) temperatures
….● a geared design that delivers efficient power for the high-thrust, high-bypass ratio engines of the future
.. ..The engine will first run on 100 % sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), part of a wider push by the propulsion specialist to have all its production engines qualified for operation on unblended SAF by 2023, representing around 40 % of the widebody fleet.
UltraFan engine is what the company calls new hardware, and its assembly began by the end of March 2021 at the DemoWorks facility in Derby, England. The demonstrator engine, called
UF001 should be completed by the end of the year and ready for the testing in a new
Testbed 80 equipped with a 140.000 l / 36.984 gal fuel tank for the different fuel types, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel, where engineers plan to check each blade using real-life test data technology which collects data from more than 10.000 parameters and can detect the tiniest of vibrations at a rate of up to 200.000 samples per second, beginning in 2022. The testbed is also home to a powerful x-ray machine that is able to capture 30 images per second and beam them directly to a secure cloud, where engineers around the world can analyse them …
.. ..At first, the new
Rolls-Royce’s
UltraFan concept, ‘2,5'-shaft, geared, variable-pitch, CTi fan equipped, turbofan engine (derived from a variable-pitch, geared, turbofan variant of the 1970s
Rolls-Royce /
Snecma.M45H, medium-bypass, turbofan engine that powered
VFW-Fokker 614 twin-engined jetliner), was imagined in the thrust range between 11,3-20,4 tf (25-45 klbf) as the propulsion for the future narrow-bodies:
Boeing’s
NSA (the
737's replacement) and
Airbus’
NSR (the
A320's replacement), and on the other side,
Rolls-Royce’s
Advance, 3-shaft, advance engine concept, was imagined to cover the thrust range in between 34,0-47,6 tf (75-105 klbf) and, as such, was anticipated for the wide-body aircraft. For the past several years
Rolls-Royce was indicating that its developmental
UltraFan engine, now initially sized for a widebody jet, would also be scalable for the narrowbody engine market that they abandoned in 2011, exiting the
.IAE International Aero Engines AG, a joint venture of
Pratt & Whitney,
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc,
Japanese Aero Engine Corporation and
MTU Aero Engines AG, that was producing
IAE V2500, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines that have been providing the thrust for the three aircraft families:
Airbus.A320 family (
V2500-A1,
V2500-A5),
McDonnell Douglas.MD-90 (
V2500-D5) and
Embraer.C-390 Millennium (
V2500-E5).
....Later on,
Rolls-Royce has begun the ground testing of a
modified.Trent 1000 engine (the hybrid demonstrator engine, labeled as
RB3069, based on a combination of the
Advance 3 core that features a new "work split" with a 2-stage high-pressure turbine (2HPT) and a 1-stage intermediate pressure turbine (1IPT), attached to a
Trent XWB-84’s fan system and
Trent 1000’s low-pressure turbine (LPT). The
Advance3 established a new "scaleable" architecture in which both the fan's blades and the fan's case are made from the composite material, marking a key step towards the development of the
UltraFan engine family. So far the Advanced Low Pressure System (
ALPS) technology demonstration program has separately validated the carbon-titanium (CTi) fan and the composite fan case. It seems
Rolls-Royce has no intention of including in the construction of the new
UltraFan engine, at least not in the first phase of its serial production,
variable pitch fan and/or Variable Area Fan Nozzle (
VAFN).
....In 2017
Rolls-Royce has set a new record for the world’s most powerful aerospace gearbox, destined to play a key role in the company’s next-generation
UltraFan engine. The power gearbox had successfully reached
70.000 hp (designed to run all the way up to
100.000 hp / 74.570 kW) during the testing at
Rolls-Royce’s
dedicated facility in Dahlewitz, Germany. The
power gearbox has a planetary design with each ‘planet’ capable of holding the force of a
Trent XWB engine at full throttle. It is designed to allow the shafts at the core of the engine to run at very high speeds while allowing the fan at the front of the engine to run at a slower speed (the gear ratio equals 4,0:1 with identically sized sun gear and planets). The outer gear, also known as the ring gear, will not move relative to the engine. The associated improvement in efficiency and reduction in weight will allow the
UltraFan engine to offer a 25 % fuel efficiency improvement over the first generation of
Rolls-Royce.Trent engines. As well as high power testing, the power gearbox was also undergoing attitude rig testing, which simulates the effect of the gearbox being on the wing of an aircraft in flight, through phases such as take-off, climb, banking and descent. On 31. Aug 2021
Rolls-Royce announced that the
UltraFan® power gearbox has set a new world aerospace record at its facility in Dahlewitz, Germany, reaching 87.000 hp / 64 MW.
....Otherwise,
Rolls-Royce works in partnership with
Liebherr-Aerospace, through the Friedrichshafen (town well known by the
MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH factory - the part of the
Rolls-Royce Power Systems), Germany-based
Aerospace Transmission Technologies (
ATT), a joint venture
Rolls-Royce especially formed with
Liebherr-Aerospace, to develop the manufacturing capability and capacity for the new power gearbox. The
Rolls-Royce leads the design definition and design integration of the project as well as the testing activities. The world’s most powerful aerospace gearbox, the part of the
Rolls-Royce UltraFan® design, will go into service in 2025 and is able to transfer up to 100.000 hp. It is a project supported by the German federal government, involving the scientists at the
Technical University of Munich (
TUM) who has been investigating how the gearbox’s properties vary according to size and how they can be optimized.
.. ..It has been frequently mentioned a possibility of reengining the
.A350 aircraft, currently powered by
.Trent XWB, 3-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines, by
.UltraFan, ‘2,5'-shaft, high-bypass, geared, turbofan engines. The extension of the contract that confirms
Rolls-Royce as the exclusive supplier until 2030 for the
Airbus A350 family is a major boost for the engine maker. It secures its return on investment on the twin-aisle program, although the Covid-crisis will have a significant impact on sales of the aircraft model in the next coming years as the recovery of long-haul travel lags behind that of short-haul. The contract extension with
Airbus SE on the
A350-900 by five years, until 2030, was announced during the factory's 2020-results presentation on 11. March 2021. It means the
Trent XWB-84 will remain the sole engine on the smallest version of the
A350.
Rolls-Royce already had an exclusive agreement for the
Trent XWB-97 on the stretched
A350-1000. The renewal ends one and a half years of speculation, in which
Airbus and
General Electric were said to study the option to offer
.GEnx, 2-shaft, high-bypass, turbofan engines on
A350-900 from 2025-2026. This would have required a redesign of the
A350 engine mounting as well as an engine upgrade on power, as the maximum output of the current
GEnx-1B and
GEnx-2B on the
.747-8 and
.787-10 is 349,20 kN / 35.608 kgf / 78.503 lbf (
GEnx-1B76A/P2 certified with
787-10). Offering a second engine on the
A350 would have made sense for
Airbus SE to make the
A350-900 more attractive to loyal
GE-customers. However, this option might have been attractive in 2019 when reports first emerged, but in a (post)-Covid world where
A350-sales are likely to stay behind the original forecast, investing in a second engine option have likely had cast doubts at both
Airbus and
GE …
.. ..The development and emergence of the
Airbus A380 aircraft, just like many, I was following with a great interest and excitement. Its existence and production provoked different kinds of emotions in me. Truly different emotions. And creativity too. And I mean it
.. …………....... ..I don't think I've participated in as many discussions and threads on this forum about any other aircraft as much as I have about those related to
A380. Lots of early mornings greeted at this forum with the
A380. Although the end of the production of this aircraft was announced for a long time, I was quite unprepared for that moment, believing to the last that something miraculous could change its destiny. I hope that many of them will remain in the service for a long time to come, testifying to one insanely brave endeavor of the aviation industry. Whether enough of those giants will survive the emergence of a new age and stay in such a good condition long enough for someone to conclude that there's a business case to reengine them by a new generation of the engines (straightforward conversion), I am not sure. It has already happened in the history …
.DC-8 Super 70 Series…
.. ..… and who knows; one day maybe we will meet in some thread named "
The First Flight of the UltraFan powered A380". I don't have to say it I'd be trully delighted to take a part in it ...
....Mario