A PERFECT - Orient Aviation

ENGINEERINGway capable of taking a B747.“As well, this big wing will have a verylow wing loading with simple, lighter, highliftdevices such as single slot flaps. Evenwith these, the approach speed of such ananimal is the same as a Dragonair A321flying into Hong Kong,” said Lafontan, aqualified A320, A330, A340 captain himselfwith 14,000 hours under his belt, mainlygained during test pilot duties.Reduction in the size of the horizontaltailplane (HTP) to ensure proper liftafter the centre of gravity wasadjusted meant less weight,even though it is still the sizeof an A321 wing. But, whilethis reduces fuel burn, it addedstrains elsewhere.“When you do that you needto make sure you have very good architectureof flight control and everywhere the aircraftis stable.“We performed some testing on anA340. We found a very good flight controlstructure. It enabled us to reduce the HTP alittle bit and reduce the size and weight ofthe plane,” said Lafontan.The entire centre of gravity, in fact, wasmoved 6% aft after two test flight campaignsand numerous laboratory and simulatortests.‘Double-deckers are not a mystery. You see thiskind of operation in Hong Kong. The buses aredouble-deckers, the boats are double-deckers.The first time I went to Hong Kong for the A3XX,I took pictures and used them for presentations.’Robert Lafontanmitted through smaller piping and hydrauliccomponents, shaving about one tonneoff the aircraft’s waist line while at the sametime improving its maintainability.He moved on to the dual architecture forthe flight control system, one using conventionalhydraulics, the other electro-hydraulicsfrom the generator: in an emergencyone system is likely to keep running.Lafontan then detailed the extensiveemployment of carbons and light alloys,especially the innovative laminate GLARE,Lafontan mentioned too the use ofcurved walls for the forward pressure bulkheadthat clipped 800 kilograms off theA380’s weight. The dash to change theengine design and increase lift at takeoffafter London Heathrow’s new noiserequirements threw a cloud over its launchdeal with Singapore Airlines.Next on his list was the use of 5,000pounds per square inch, instead of the usual3,000 pounds, for the A380’s hydraulicssystems, which allows power to be transwhichhave helped the A380 stay as trim aspossible, considering its size, while at thesame time increasing its efficiency and durability.Some 40% of its structure and componentsare made of carbon composites andadvanced metallic materials.Eight hundred kilograms have been savedthrough the use of GLARE – made fromalternating layers of aluminium and glassfibrereinforced adhesive – for the upperfuselage shell.Carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP)was brought in for the centre wingbox, saving one and a half tonneswhen compared to aluminiumalloys. It is also being used onupper deck floor beams, the verticaltailplane (see separate story)and the rear pressure bulkhead.Laser welding on the lower shelf, frontsection and panel and expanded use of titanium,particularly for the landing gear,have also helped. But all this took time, andpatience, Lafontan said.“When you have such a big aircraft,you need to optimise, section by section, asmuch as you can. That’s the reason why wedon’t have only one material for the fuselage.We have tried to take the best fromeach through a reasonable industrial compromise,”he said.A cockpit for thePlay Station generationThe A380 flight deckRobert Lafontan, as a pilot himself, although now mainly asa weekend enthusiast flying helicopters and turboprops,was keen to point out the advances in the A380’s cockpit,the widest on an aircraft in current production.It’s a fly-by-wire system, of course, and instrumentation is compatiblewith the Airbus family, meaning pilots can transfer withonly short preparation. They will be using advanced cursor devices– track balls – to move between screens, utilising a fully-integratedavionics system, fully networked to the flight management system.The track balls were introduced with the future in mind. “Somefuture pilots of the A380 are teenagers or even children who haven’tbeen born yet,” said Lafontan, referring to the possible 50-yearlifespan of the aircraft. “Take a 60-year-old pilot, he doesn’t usethese things. But children use Nintendo and Play Station. You haveto take that into consideration and design a cockpit for 50 years.“This is the first time any airliner has used interconnectivity tomove from different items on the same screen or to move amongdifferent screens.”Added vertical displays at the base of the navigation displayunits give room for information on flight trajectory to go with landingand route charts. “The paperless cockpit is very important,” saidLafontan. “Today a pilot has to look up seven books to find the minimumaltitude he can fly. It looks like a small thing, but it’s a bigadvantage.”Moving maps of airport layouts can also be displayed, takingsome of the strain off pilots finding their way in bad or foggyweather. “It’s happened to me. It’s happened to any pilot,” saidLafontan. “You have to be careful not to lose track. It’s very difficultat an airport during bad weather.“Flying the aircraft is OK, but these big birds are better in the airthan they are on the ground.”16 ORIENT AVIATION / A380 Quarterly Update JUNE – AUGUST 2005