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Airbus A380 opens to the public
Added: (Fri Nov 04 2005)
-for immediate release-
Toulouse, France. 4 November 2005
Airbus A380 opens to the public
The mighty new passenger airliner - the Airbus A380 - can now be seen at close quarters by its many admiring fans. Since 2nd November the general public is invited to tour the new Airbus facility at Blagnac, near Toulouse, France where the Airbus planes are assembled.
The tour starts with a nod to the past as guests are taken to admire one of the last Concordes to fly under Air France colours; there could be no better way of under-lining the extraordinary difference in scale between the supersonic airliner of the sixties and the great behemoth which is the A380. The Concorde is sleek, feline ...and incredibly small whereas the new Airbus is extravagantly enormous in every way.
The tour takes the visitor into the newly-constructed hangar where the beast is assembled and before even seeing the airliner one is knocked out by the very size of the building: it's like a football stadium. And there on the playing surface is a plane being put together. One is struck by the lack of bustle and haste: the few workers visible seem to spend a lot of time quietly discussing and contemplating before making a few decisive gestures. It is a lesson in modern manufacturing techniques watching the way the technicians work in small groups, methodically and quietly. We are light years from 'Modern Times'.
The rest of the comprehensive 90 minute tour includes a short film on the Airbus project as well as a tour of the extensive plant where the whole range of planes are assembled - after being brought in pieces from 4 corners of Europe. If you're lucky you'll see one of the two A380's taking off or landing or, more likely, on of the extraordinary 'Belugas' - the Airbus transport planes resembling an overgrown dolphin which ply between the various Airbus sites ferrying plane parts.
Practical information: France à la carte (francealacarte.com) run a little weekend 'aerospace' break in Toulouse combining a visit to the Toulouse
Space Center with the A380 visit. They look after tickets, hotel accommodation and transport. All you have to do is get to Toulouse which is not difficult as its a major airport with direct flights from most European capitals. As a bonus you get to see the latest Airbus planes as soon as you
arrive: the civilian airport and Airbus share the same runways!
-ENDS-