The Airbus A380 flight test programme reached its 1,000h milestone yesterday.
Since the first prototype took its maiden last April, three other test aircraft have joined the programme and MSN001 clocked up the 1,000th hour after it took off from Toulouse at 09:40 (pictured below). Airbus used the flight over southern France to test the flight control system’s performance in strong winds.
MSN001 and 002 development aircraft are fitted with heavy test instrumentation and being used for aerodynamic, low speed and flight vibration tests. The third and fourth aircraft have been flown to Hamburg for cabin installation and both aircraft will be used for simulation long-range (or “early longâ€) flights of around 12h taking off and landing at Toulouse with a cabin full of Airbus employees in the second quarter. The aircraft will then be used for route-proving flights later this year.
Flight Global
Since the first prototype took its maiden last April, three other test aircraft have joined the programme and MSN001 clocked up the 1,000th hour after it took off from Toulouse at 09:40 (pictured below). Airbus used the flight over southern France to test the flight control system’s performance in strong winds.
MSN001 and 002 development aircraft are fitted with heavy test instrumentation and being used for aerodynamic, low speed and flight vibration tests. The third and fourth aircraft have been flown to Hamburg for cabin installation and both aircraft will be used for simulation long-range (or “early longâ€) flights of around 12h taking off and landing at Toulouse with a cabin full of Airbus employees in the second quarter. The aircraft will then be used for route-proving flights later this year.
Flight Global
