Airbus A380

If you have any experience of this aeroplane, as an engineer, air crew, designer, builder, anything, any anecdotes or information which can be published here, please drop me a note. Thank you.

I was fortunate to spend a large part of my life flying all sorts of exotic machines and one of the last aircraft I flew was the Learjet 35, a very, very small aeroplane in which I could not even sit up straight.

The challenge of getting my 17 stone frame into the cockpit was something best done when the passengers were not watching. My head would touch the canopy when I sat in the drivers seat., and as soon as I put on a head set, I had to sit with my head slightly leaning over to the right, away from the side screen.

I went from the cockpit of the Learjet to the cockpit of an Airbus A380. The difference was satisfying.

My first experience of an A380 was an Emirates flight from London to New Zealand. Flying in the A380, even as a passenger, is supremely preferable to any other aircraft.

It is not like flying at all. You simply sit in a nice, open space, with no noticeable noise or crowding, no turbulence or interference, and at some point, you arrive at destination, relaxed and ready for work or holiday.

The A380 was, for me, a rekindling of what flying is all about. Stress free, comfortable and convenient. An excellent aeroplane.