The A380 "Superjumbo" makes its historic first flight, becoming the largest passenger airliner ever built.

the Airbus A380 completed its maiden flight from Toulouse Blagnac Airport in France, marking the first airborne test of the largest passenger airliner ever built. The aircraft that took off that morning was the A380 prototype registered F WWOW. Powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, the double deck wide body jet departed Toulouse at approximately 10:29 local time. The first flight lasted about 3 hours and 54 minutes and concluded with a landing at the same airport. The test crew included Chief Test Pilot Jacques Rosay, Experimental Test Pilot Claude Lelaie, Test Flight Engineer Fernando Alonso, and two additional flight test engineers. Launched in December 2000, the A380 program was developed to serve high density, long haul routes between major global hubs. The aircraft features a full length double deck cabin and, in a typical three class configuration, can seat around 555 passengers. In all economy layout, certified capacity exceeds 800 passengers. With a maximum takeoff weight initially certified at 560 tonnes, later increased in subsequent variants, the A380 surpassed the Boeing 747 in overall passenger capacity and internal floor space. Following a multi year flight test and certification campaign involving five development aircraft, the A380 received European and United States certification in December 2006. It entered commercial service with Singapore Airlines on 25/10/2007. Production of the A380 concluded in 2021 after a total of 251 aircraft were delivered. The first flight on 27/04/2005 marked the start of the A380’s flight testing phase and introduced the world’s largest passenger airliner into operational development from its assembly site in Toulouse. #A380 #Airbus #Superjumbo #MaidenFlight #AviationHistory