The Flying Network Has Reached Its Cruising Altitude...The Flying Network Has Reached Its Cruising Altitude...

TOULOUSE, France--Airbus engineers are billing the company's 555-passenger superjumbo A380, under construction at Airbus plants in Europe, as a technology platform on which future aircraft could evolve. Critical planks in that platform are the on-board information system and integrated modular avionics system.

The new technology being used to produce the A380 is expected to provide up to a 20% savings in seat/mile costs compared with today's most efficient aircraft, thereby lowering airfares, according to Airbus. The plane will offer a third more seating than existing planes, more floor space, and wider seats and aisles. The manufacturer says the A380 will generate less noise at takeoff, emit less exhaust, and carry 35% more passengers than its competitors over distances such as London to Singapore.

Boeing Co., Airbus' chief rival, is taking the opposite tack, focusing on smaller, faster planes that take fewer passengers directly to smaller destinations, rather than to hub cities only. Industry analysts say the cost of operating large, half-empty aircraft could hurt the A380's prospects.

Still, Airbus says its approach is justified based on the number of orders already received: 80 A380 passenger planes and 17 freight versions, 10 of which have been ordered by FedEx Corp. Passenger service is expected to begin in 2006; delivery of the freighters is slated for '08.

Some electronic systems for the superjumbo are still to be defined. But the A380 "will embody the latest technologies, materials, systems, and industrial processes," says A380 systems director Michel Comes.

Launched in December 2000, the project is in its detailed-definition and early construction phase. Delivery of the first aircraft to the final assembly line here is set for 2004.

Added Technologies

Airbus emphasizes cockpit commonality: Models share the same flight-deck design and have similar handling qualities and flight procedures. The approach continues with the A380, though technologies are being added. Pilots will have a better view from the A380 cockpit, situated midway between the plane's two decks. Cameras will be located in the tail fin and on the belly.

"The A380 will have three important new avionics concepts and capabilities," Comes says. "The main cockpit systems will be interactive at a level never before accomplished on a commercial plane."

As on all Airbus aircraft now in production, the A380 flight deck includes a primary flight display and a navigation display for each pilot, plus two electronic centralized aircraft monitors to display engine and systems information. Two multifunction displays are used primarily for the flight-management system but also for data link with air-traffic controllers. The cockpit contains eight identical LCDs, all larger than those in previous Airbus aircraft. All are interchangeable and reconfigurable.

Pilots will be able to change the flight-management system flight plan using a trackball on the cockpit's center pedestal. They will complete flight checklists on new monitors, with each displayed item changing color once the corresponding function has been checked.

Data-link communications and surveillance are controlled via a graphical interface rather than separate control panels. The larger displays provide a vertical profile of the aircraft's intended flight path, shown on the navigation display, a feature designers say will make it easier for pilots to visualize terrain. The navigation displays also can show airport maps of taxiways and parking stands, helping flight crews navigate clogged airports when visibility is poor.

The A380's network and server system stores data and offers electronic documentation, providing a required equipment list, navigation charts, performance calculations, and an aircraft logbook. All will be accessible to the pilot from two additional 11-inch diagonal LCDs. Each is controlled by its own keyboard and control cursor device mounted in the foldable table in front of each pilot.

A contractor for the on-board information system has not yet been chosen.

Avionics Backbone

The backbone of the aircraft electronics is the avionics suite, based on the data communications network plus the plane's other electronic resources.

The Ethernet-based AFDX data communications network will transmit most data at 100 Mbps between all electronic systems. The digital switch node of the network is being developed by Rockwell Collins.

"This is the first time this system has been used throughout an entire Airbus aircraft," Comes says. "The system's standards were conceived and tested jointly by Airbus and major electronic suppliers on both sides of the Atlantic." The first elements will be received early next year.

"The system permits loading data such as the flight-management system database and computer software at 100 Mbps through a centralized plug on the aircraft, or by wireless connection, without changing the memory modules," Comes says. "Thus, rather than upgrade an airline's fleet computer by computer, all can be done without hardware handling at a high transfer rate by a single control."

Instead of using one box per function, the A380 assigns several functions to each box. One comprises the flight warning computer, flight control data concentrator, and backup flight control unit modules. Another, developed by Hamilton Standard, a division of United Technologies Corp., handles temperature control and cabin pressure. Yet another controls the landing gear and braking systems.

In addition to the Hamilton Standard units, modules are produced by European vendors Thales and Diehl and by internal Airbus supplier EYY.

EYY is also supplying the flight-warning system, air-traffic communications, the primary flight controls, and the autopilot. Honeywell Aerospace is supplying an air data inertial reference unit, the flight-management system, and the newly integrated surveillance system.

Load Factor

Increasing the passenger count per plane will accommodate the growing number of travelers without increasing the number of planes in the air, Airbus executives say. That could reduce air traffic and airport congestion while saving on new airport construction. Airbus says it undertook the A380's design in collaboration with some 60 major airports throughout the world.

The A380-800 passenger plane can carry 555 passengers in three classes. It has a range of up to 8,000 nautical miles. The A380-800F freighter will carry a payload of 150 tons over 5,600 nautical miles. Other versions are planned as demand rises.

The A380 can be powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine or the GP7200 from the Engine Alliance, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney.