Airbus A350 XWB First Flight

[Number1]

It was almost comical hanging from it's test bird in comparison to its own fans. Absolutely huge.

Can you imagine the size of the airplane they could build using those engines.....
Scary.

 

[Anubis]

Can you imagine the size of the airplane they could build using those engines.....
Scary.

spruce goose!

 

[Number1]

spruce goose!

The 747, 380 and Antonov are all longer but the Spruce had a widest wing spread.

The Antonov 225 is the largest plane ever built. Wiki

 

[ElFenix]

It looks quite similar to 787 beside having some typical airbus patterns, but hey we will going to have full skies with it soon.
It seems that smaller planes are again in their prime, where 747 and A380 are only used for those longest and demanding flights.

smaller? the A350 is huge. it's a 777 competitor. that's a big honking plane.

the 747 is pretty much past its prime. but its main replacements are planes that are only marginally smaller. the current 777-300(ER) seats as many or more than the 747-100 and -200 did. if boeing can get the 777X certified for 240 or 330 ETOPS exemption there's literally no where in the world it can't go. and the 777X's largest variant should seat the same as a 744.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

It looks quite similar to 787 beside having some typical airbus patterns, but hey we will going to have full skies with it soon.
It seems that smaller planes are again in their prime, where 747 and A380 are only used for those longest and demanding flights.

747s and A380s are best for carrying large numbers of people to and from (usually) a hub. Some airlines, namely EK, do use it (or intend on using it) for ULHs, but the A380's shining point isn't its range, although it is certainly very impressive.

The longest regularly scheduled flights have been operated with the 77L (ATL-JNB) or A345 (SIN-EWR, SIN-LAX, BKK-JFK), which not coincidentally are the longest-range passenger jets built.

Qantas is the outlier, but it's pretty well known that they won't touch a 777 ever.

 

[techs]

Boeing appears to have made the correct decision putting their money into the Dreamliner and not into a new super jumbo. The A380 is not selling very well.

People prefer direct flights and a smaller plane like the Dreamliner has a far bigger market than the A380.

Within about ten years its likely that Boeing may have a replacement for the 747 that's larger than the A380 which will hit the market as super jumbo demand surges. And the Boeing plane will be newer, larger and take advantage of all the airport upgrades made for the A380.

 

[ElFenix]

Boeing appears to have made the correct decision putting their money into the Dreamliner and not into a new super jumbo. The A380 is not selling very well.

People prefer direct flights and a smaller plane like the Dreamliner has a far bigger market than the A380.

Within about ten years its likely that Boeing may have a replacement for the 747 that's larger than the A380 which will hit the market as super jumbo demand surges. And the Boeing plane will be newer, larger and take advantage of all the airport upgrades made for the A380.

if that's the case then the 777X will be going through the same evolution as what eventually became the A350.

Airbus faced almost immediate criticism on the A350 project from the heads of two of their largest customers, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). On 28 March 2006, in the presence of hundreds of top airline executives, ILFC President Steven F. Udvar-Hazy lambasted Airbus' strategy in bringing to market what they saw as "a Band-aid reaction to the 787", a sentiment that was echoed by GECAS president Henry Hubschman. Udvar-Hazy called on Airbus to bring a clean-sheet design to the table, or risk losing most of the market to Boeing.[18][19] Several days later Chew Choon Seng, then CEO of Singapore Airlines (SIA), made a similar comment: "Having gone through the trouble of designing a new wing, tail, cockpit" and adding advanced new materials, Airbus "should have gone the whole hog and designed a new fuselage."[20] At the time, SIA was reviewing bids for the 787 and A350.