parthasarathy

jubo jet

2008-12-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

It's the largest passenger jet ever built -- so huge that airports have to be redesigned to accommodate it. It can pack in more passengers and cargo than any other commercial airliner, yet its designers claim it will actually increase efficiency, use less fuel and generate less noise.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 is revealed to the public.

None Bigger
The Airbus A380 is truly a giant. It has a wingspan of 261.8 feet (79.8 meters), a length of 239.5 feet (73 meters) and a maximum take-off weight of more than 1.2 million pounds (540,000 kg).

While it is the largest passenger airliner ever made, it is not the biggest airplane in the world -- this honor belongs to the Ukrainian An-225 Cossack (see below: "The Biggest Planes Ever").

A plane this size can potentially carry hundreds more passengers than today's airliners. The A380's two passenger decks (with a cargo deck below) could be outfitted in a single-class configuration to take on up to 840 passengers. However, Airbus isn't focusing on that option, instead designing a three-class configuration for 555 passengers. That's still a marked increase over the 416 passengers that can fit into a Boeing 747-400, the current leader in passenger capacity.

The Cost of Greatness

Airbus has spent an estimated $13 billion on the development of the A380. The price for a single plane is listed at $285 million. Industry experts point out that airlines rarely pay full list price, especially if they order large numbers of planes, so it is difficult to determine exactly how many planes Airbus needs to sell to recoup the development costs. It's important to remember that a new airplane design will be modified and upgraded for decades -- Airbus has said that it's looking toward 2020 in designing the Airbus. The Boeing 747 has been flying since 1970.

Interior Setup
Why choose the three-class configuration over the higher-capacity, single-class setup? The official Airbus Web site has this to say:
The A380's twin-aisle, twin-deck passenger cabin offers the long-distance traveller a whole new level of comfort. A cabin designed around a large sample of today's real passengers providing more space regardless of class of ticket, wider seats and aisles. Optional lower deck use for rest areas, business, bar or other amenities can further enhance the A380 travel experience.

The reality is, economy class seats will be about 1 inch (2.54 cm) wider, while first-class seats may fold down into beds. Some have even suggested that the A380 could be outfitted as a "luxury jet," complete with a casino, shops, hot tubs and double beds.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 cabin mock-up, upper-deck business class

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 cabin mock-up, upper-deck social area

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 cabin mock-up, main-deck economy class

Most airlines are looking for efficiency rather than luxury, and the A380 provides that, as well. It has a range of 8,000 nautical miles and utilizes a host of new technologies and better engines to increase fuel efficiency.

A380 Advances
Airlines aren't ordering A380s just because it's big. The new design has to offer them a way to make more money, especially with the entire airline industry suffering from narrow profit margins. The A380 does offer opportunities for increased profit through the economics of scale.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS

The operating cost of an A380 is not substantially greater than that of the Boeing 747 (the closest passenger jet in size and capacity). Every extra passenger on an A380 represents money made by the airline above and beyond what they could have made on a smaller plane. The increased range also helps add to an increased number of "seat-miles" per flight. The end result is a drop in per-passenger operating costs of 15 to 20 percent, according to Airbus.

Airbus has also introduced several updated technologies in efforts to make the A380 as fuel efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. High-efficiency engines are being developed by Rolls-Royce and a partnership between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney known as Engine Alliance.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
Fitting a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine onto the MSN001, the first A380 (September '04)

The use of lightweight materials has helped to keep the weight down, while extensive wind-tunnel testing has resulted in the optimum aerodynamic shape for the A380. Special dampeners keep the noise level coming from the engines down to about half that of other jumbo jets.

Carbon fiber, a strong, light but expensive material, is used on key parts of the A380. Roughly 25 percent of the plane's overall structure is made from carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). To create the various shapes that comprise the A380, engineers use different processes. For large, flat pieces, a computer-controlled tape-laying machine processes resin-impregnated carbon-fiber tapes in a pressurized autoclave. For curved pieces, the CFRP fabric is shaped dry and then impregnated with resin. For some parts, large pieces of carbon-fiber were stitched together by computerized, industrial sewing machines.

Technical Specifications
The chart below compares the Airbus A380 with the Boeing 747-400 (the 400 is the most recent and best-selling version). This chart is based on the basic configuration of the A380, although several variations are planned, including the A380F (for freight). Federal Express has already ordered 10 of the F version for delivery in 2008.

Photos courtesy Airbus SAS (left) and Chris Sloan
Airbus A380 illustration (left) and Boeing 747-400

	Airbus 380*	Boeing 747-400*
Measurements
Wingspan	79.8 m (261 ft 10 in)	64.4 m (211 ft 5 in)
Length	73.0 m (239 ft 6 in)	70.7 m (231 ft 10 in)
Height	24.1 m (79 ft)	19.4 m (63 ft 8 in)
Weight: Empty	610,700 lbs (277,000 kg)	399,000 lbs (181,000 kg)
Weight: Max Takeoff	1,234,600 lbs (560,000 kg)	875,000 lbs (397,000 kg)
Capacity/Layout
Crew	2	2
Passengers (three-class arrangement)	555	416
Seating configuration	Two decks, two aisles per deck	Single deck, two aisles
Miscellaneous
Range	8,000 nm (14,800 km)	7, 284 nm (13,491 km)
Service ceiling	43,000 ft (13,100 m)	41,000 ft
Top cruising speed	Mach 0.88 (299 m/s)	Mach 0.79 (260 m/s)
Long-distance cruising speed	Mach 0.85 (289 m/s)	Mach 0.76 (252 m/s)
Powerplant	4 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofans (initially 70,000 lb thrust; cleared at 80,000 lb thrust [ref]) or 4 Engine Alliance GP7200 turbofans (approx. 82,000 lb thrust [ref])	4 Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofans (56,000 lb thrust [ref])
*Sources: Airbus.com; Boeing.com; Airliners.net

Logistics
Just putting an A380 together presented Airbus with some problems. There was no way it could create a manufacturing facility large enough to build the entire plane in one place. Various parts are built all over Europe:

Wings - Broughton, Wales
Fuselage parts - Hamburg, Germany
Tailfin - Stade, Germany
Rudder - Puerto Real, Spain
Nose - Saint Nazaire, France
Fuselage and cockpit sub-assemblies - Méaulte, France
Horizontal tailplane - Getafe, Spain
Final assembly - Toulouse, France
Cabin installation and painting - Hamburg, Germany

Other parts are made around the world, including some in the United States. Most of the largest parts are transported by barge.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 wings carried on the Dee-Dee River Craft between Airbus UK's Broughton factory and Port of Mostyn

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 fuselage components on the Garonne river, crossing the Pont de Pierre in Bordeaux, France

The tail assemblies are the only major part that can be transported by air (using the Airbus Beluga). A convoy of huge trucks carries the parts from Langon, France, to Toulouse. To accommodate such huge components, an entire infrastructure had to be created, including special river and seagoing vessels that allow parts to "roll on and roll off," customized port facilities and widened roads.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
A380 forward and center fuselage components on the floating transfer station in Pauillac, France

Airbus was worried that pilots would need extensive training on such a large aircraft, increasing the effective cost to airlines. With that in mind, it refined fly-by-wire technology to decrease the pilot workload and placed the cockpit midway between the two passenger decks to keep visibility high and make sure everything felt familiar to pilots accustomed to flying other passenger jets. A camera mounted in the plane's belly allows the pilot to check the location of the wheels. The control systems are meant to be similar to other Airbus models, minimizing the amount of additional pilot training needed to fly the A380.

A380 Background
In the early 1990s, Airbus began to study the possibility of developing a jet with passenger capacity over 500 to directly compete with the Boeing 747. Engineering and design didn't begin until 1994, when the plane was known as the A3XX. Airbus considered a wide-body, twin-tailfin design but adopted a double-deck design instead. Eventually, the plane was designated A380, which does not keep the usual numeric sequence of other Airbus planes: The "8" was chosen because it reflects the cross-section of the plane's double-deck passenger area.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS
MSN001 entering the system assembly station (June '04)

In 2000, the first orders for A380s came in, and Airbus began laying the infrastructure for manufacturing the huge planes. This included massive hangars and factories in France, Wales, Germany, Spain and England.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS

The A380 project had a staff of more than 6,000 people in 2002. While work was being done at the manufacturing end, sales were also picking up, with 14 airlines ordering 154 A380s as of early 2005.

The first complete A380 was unveiled on January 18, 2005. The first test flight is scheduled for March 2005, with regularly scheduled service with Singapore Airlines to begin one year later. A cargo-only version, the A380F, will begin flights in 2008.

Photo courtesy Airbus SAS

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dddd

2007-07-07T02:41:00.001-07:00

ddddd

hongkong part3 (ocean park and the city lights)

2007-06-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Link

Mysore

2007-06-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Mysore Royal Palace, Durbar Hall, Jaganmohan Palace, Sri Chamarajendra Art Gallery, Railway Museum, Chamundi Hill... by Toby Sinclair
DISCOVERINDIA > PLACES > MYSORE . . .
The Mysore of legend takes its name from a famous demon called Mahishasure, a great warrior who rules as a tyrant until he was killed by the goddess Chamundeshwari. The Mysore seat of history was the capital of several imperial dynasties and later of the princely state of Mysore, the seat of the Wodeyar maharajas. Today there is no trace of the battle between the goddess and the demon and the great dynasties have vanished, the splendour of the maharajas has faded, Mysore state has been renamed Karnataka - and redefined on a linguistic basis - and the capital shifted to Bangalore. For generations the Wodeyar maharajas worshipped the goddess Chamundeshwari as their family deity and were strict observers of religious practices. They attracted scholars to their court and acted as generous patrons of the arts. They built much of the Mysore we see today and a portion of the city's most famous landmark, the imposing Royal Palace. The palace stands on the foundations of an earlier palace gutted by fire in 1897. The most magnificent room is the Durbar Hall, particularly splendid during the Dussehra festival (late September/early October) when the maharaja's jewel-studded gold throne - weighing 200 kilograms (440 pounds) - is on display. For more of Mysore's opulence, go to the Jaganmohan Palace. Built in 1861, part of it was shortly afterwards converted in to the Sri Chamarajendra Art Gallery by a former maharaja. It displays portraits of the royal family in all their ceremonial regalia as well as work by both Indian and Western artists. There is also a sizeable collection of furniture, glass and china along with sculpture and decorative arts from around the world. The Chamarajndra Zoological Gardens were opened in 1892, with much effort being put into providing the inmates with near-natural habitats. The zoo houses several rate species, many of which have been bred in captivity, including India's most magnificent snake, the king cobra. The gleaming steam engines on display at the Railway Museum, opened in 1979, are emblazoned with the royal insignia of the maharajas, and the private coaches, in which they traveled with their families and vast retinues, recall bygone splendour. Although the maharajas had nothing to do with building St Philomena's Church, its architects were possibly affected by the grandeur of the royal buildings. Thirteen kilometers (eight miles) outside Mysore is Chamundi Hill, whose 1,000 stone steps, carved by a 17th-century maharaja, bring you to the temple of the goddess Chamundeshwari. About halfway up is a huge statue of the demon Mahishasura brandishing a viciously curved sword in one hand and a rearing cobra in the other. The ideal time to visit Mysore is during the Dussehra festival (late September/early October). The citizens of Mysore celebrate with faith and fervour, for the festival honours the goddess Saraswati and their own Chamundeshwari. The festival climaxes on the tenth day when a magnificent procession sets out from the Royal Palace. A majestic elephant carries the idol of Chamundeshwari though the crowded streets. She is seated in a golden howdah and regally attended by priests, musicians, caparisoned elephants, horses and camels.

Golconda

2007-06-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Golconda Golconda Fort, Rani Mahal, Royal Palaces of Golconda, Lovely Pavilions, Tombs, Ramdas Kotha... by Toby Sinclair
DISCOVERINDIA > PLACES > GOLCONDA . . .
The deserted ruins of Golconda Fort, crowning a hill 11 kilometers (seven miles) west of Hyderabad, still throb with the might of the Qutb Shahi kings. Golconda's recorded history dates from 1364 when it was no more than a small mud-walled fort. By 1518, when the Qutb Shahi kings rose to power, the fort had been enlarged and rebuilt in hard granite with huge iron spikes in its massive gates to repel battering war elephants. Invasion was a constant threat and the measures taken to prevent it included cordon walls, high ramparts, huge semicircular bastions, a wide moat and a balcony from which boiling oil could be poured on would-be invaders. Although the fort withstood many attacks, it fell in 1687 after a siege of eight months. Ironically, it was the treachery of a Qutb Shahi general that brought defeat, not inadequate defences. The extraordinary acoustics for which Golconda is rightly famous also played a part in its protection; the entry gate and the summit's citadel were designed so that the guards on the lower level could easily be heard at the top. But Golconda also has a softer side. In addition to its massive defences there are also the palaces and mosques of its kings and nobles and the lovely pavilions, gardens and Turkish baths of their queens, princesses and favourites. The exquisitely decorated rooms of the Rani Mahal once sparkled with precious jewels and were surrounded by gardens ad fountains. But death has its place here, too. Mortuary baths were built where special attendants washed the royal dead who could be interred only after a ceremonial cleaning. Many of the Qutb Shahi kings are buried at Golconda in massive tombs inscribed with their names and the dates of their reigns. Amongst the dead is Taramati, the favourite of Abdulla Qutb Shahi; the delicacy of her tomb recalls a courtesan whose sweet voice the wind once carried all over the hillside. The Muslim kings were tolerant of the beliefs held by their many Hindu subjects. Near the Royal Palaces is a small temple dedicated to the goddess Kali. One Hindu official incurred royal displeasure when he appropriated money to remove a Golconda temple. Apprehended and found guilty, he was incarcerated in the prison that now bears his name, Ramdas Kotha. The idols he made of his favourite god Rama and Rama's consort and brother can still be seen here. Supplying water to the rocky aridness of Golconda required sophisticated engineering. The problem was solved with a system in which 'Persian wheels' raised water through cooling clay pipes into canals and storage reservoirs. The system made it possible to create and maintain beautiful gardens. In the heyday Golconda, literally the 'Shepherd on the Hill', was famous throughout the known world. Visitors were drawn by reports of its glorious wealth and the fabulous bazaars that traded in precious stones. The great Koh-i-noor diamond that now graces the British crown was mined here.

http://t-shirts-around.blogspot.com/2007/06/printbrigade-t-shirts.html

2007-06-10T22:02:00.000-07:00