The A380 receives joint certification from EASA and FAA12 December 2006
The signing of the A380 type certificate was a very formal occasion, yet the mood in the large hall was festive. Against the backdrop of a floodlit A380, a succession of speakers highlighted this was a major milestone not only for the A380 and for Airbus, but also for the history of aviation.
Louis Gallois, Airbus President and CEO, stated: "The A380 is the largest civil airliner and the first full passenger double-decker ever developed and certified. It will make history in this century. From a technical point of view, we can now confirm that it is meeting - or even exceeding - expectations in terms of performance, range, environmental friendliness and cabin comfort. The support of our customers is the best evidence that this product will become the flagship in many airline fleets."
The A380 certification is the first to be jointly completed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "Our co-operation on the A380 should be an example for future projects," said EASA Executive Director Patrick Goudou.
A feeling echoed by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey: "What brings us here is an example of superb co-operation among Airbus, EASA and the FAA... An example of what happens when there's a resolution to get the job done."
"Today we write another chapter in aviation history with the joint certification of the A380 by the European and U.S. airworthiness authorities EASA and FAA," said Alain Garcia, Airbus Executive Vice-President Engineering, who received the certificates from Patrick Goudou and Marion Blakey.
"The A380 is not only the most spacious civil aircraft ever built, but it is also the most advanced - representing a unique technology platform from which all of our future aircraft programmes will evolve," said Alain Garcia.
The spirit of the occasion was summed up by Marion Blakey: "The size of this aircraft is indicative of just how big dreams can be... When you bring great minds together, safety is the natural by-product. And safety, after all, is what gives man wings to fly."
Notes to Editors: The A380 test programme started with systems testing in 2001, structural testing in November 2004 and structural fatigue testing in September 2005. This then led to one of the most extensive certification flight test programmes in the history of Airbus, marked with the first flight on 27th April 2005 and ending on 30th November 2006 with the successful around the globe technical route-proving trip, which took the aircraft over both poles, testing the aircraftÂ’s performance under normal airline operations.
The flight tests have been designed to assess the general handling qualities of the aircraft, operational performance, airfield noise as well as systems operation, in normal mode, failure cases and extreme conditions. For the extreme weather trials Airbus has taken the aircraft from the cold of Northern Canada, to the desert heat of the Gulf and hot and high altitudes of Ethiopia & Colombia where it yielded excellent results and in many cases surpassed its design targets.
Further flight tests for certification purposes have been dedicated to water ingestion trials; low speed take-off tests (VMU trials); flutter; and rejected take off and landings. In addition to a number of wake vortex trials required for certification, Airbus has performed and continues to perform a large series of tests and measurements in this area. These tests have been designed to gather data to support recommendations by the A380 Wake Vortex Steering Group made to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), regarding safe wake vortex separation criteria for aircraft following an A380 for various flight conditions.
In addition to flight test success, further highlights have included airport compatibility trials with a total of 38 airports visited to date around the globe during which the ability to operate the A380 in the same way as existing large aircraft has been demonstrated.
The A380 cabin also underwent a series of tests for certification, including the successful evacuation test, performed at Airbus' Hamburg site, Germany, on 26th March 2006. During this largest ever aircraft evacuation trial 853 passengers and 20 crew members left the aircraft within 78 seconds - 12 seconds less than required, validating 853 as the maximum passenger seating capacity, for the A380-800.
Although not required for certification, but part of Airbus' commitment to smooth entry into service, Airbus undertook a series of four Early Long Flights in September 2006 where over 2000 Airbus employees took part to assess the cabin environment and systems in flight. These followed a 15 hour Virtual Long Flight, that took place in May 2006 in Hamburg, where 474 Airbus employees tested cabin systems in simulated long haul conditions.
http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/12_12_06_A380_EASA_FAA_Ceritifcation.html