The largest passenger and cargo aircraft Airbus A380

Airbus A380 - the biggest airliner created concern «Airbus SAS» (formerly Airbus Industrie). Double-decked. The height of 24 meters, length 73 meters, a wingspan of 79, 4 meters. Perёlety can make non-stop over a distance of 15 000 km. Capacity - 555 passengers (853 - in charter configuration). Among the big liners most economical - 3 liters of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers. Has four engines. Also provides cargo modification A380F with the possibility of carrying loads up to 150 tons at a distance of 10 400 km. Maximum takeoff weight - 560 tons (the weight of the aircraft - 280 tons). The declared cost of the liner - $ 280 million. This is 15% less than the value "747", which can carry 400 passengers ("747" was the largest liner for 35 years, but commercial use record still belongs to the Soviet AN-225 "Mriya»).

Every year, "Airbus' plans to produce 35 aircraft. At the beginning of 2007, the company has already received orders for a total of 166 new aircraft. The future plans - delivery to the customer at least 700 cars.

For the development of the A380 took about 10 years, the cost of the program - about 11 billion euros. According to the developers, the most difficult part in the creation of the plane was the problem of reducing its weight. This was solved through the use of new and revolutionary in its performance composite material. It is made from the fuselage and wings. As a result, 40% of the A380 consists of graphite.