Airbus A380 Production » MSN042

A380 Production Update: May 2010 (#8)

Oliver Gigacz — Sat, 15 May 2010 06:49:59 +0000

A lot of people have been asking on the forum about the delivery dates for certain frames, So to quickly answer all those questions here are the delivery dates that we know of.

MSN041 (Lufthansa #2) – June 2010
MSN030 (Emirates #11) – July 2010
MSN044 (Lufthansa #3) – July 2010
MSN046 (Emirates #12) – August 2010
MSN042 (Emirates #13) – September 2010
MSN049 (Air France #4) – September 2010
MSN048 (Lufthansa #4) – October 2010
MSN056 (Emirates #14) – October 2010
MSN047 (Qantas #7) – November 2010
MSN057 (Emirates #15) – December 2010
MSN050 (Qantas #8) – January 2011
MSN055 (Qantas #9) – January 2011
MSN061 (Lufthansa #5) – January 2011

All Dates are Subject to Change

(The delivery dates for MSN035, MSN052, MSN058, MSN062, MSN064, MSN065, MSN066, MSN069, MSN071 will be posted soon)

A380 Production Update: April 2010 (#10)

Oliver Gigacz — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:47:30 +0000

On Monday we received some great news from the highest source. MSN031 (China Southern #1) has been confirmed as the new frame that will be carried on Convoy #7/2010.

This is the first new A380 airline in 14 months, the last being Lufthansa back in February 2009. China Southern will take delivery of their first A380 in Q3 2011.

We all know that MSN042 (Emirates #13) is in Hamburg waiting for an outfitting spot, But it is only now that we get a picture of her flying.

Image Courtesy of David Barrie

A380 Production Update: April 2010 (#9)

Oliver Gigacz — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:41:20 +0000

Yesterday, MSN042 (Emirates #13) was transferred to Hamburg. The aircraft will now be painted and outfitted for airline service, with delivery to Emirates in early Q4 2010.

MSN071 (Singapore Airlines #14) completed Body Join on Thursday, and is now waiting for a spot to open up in Final Assembly.

Image Courtesy of Denis CARAIRE

A380 Production Update: April 2010 (#5)

Oliver Gigacz — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:40:34 +0000

MSN042 (Emirates #13) finally performed her first flight yesterday. After weeks of engine and taxi testing Airbus engineers cleared the frame for flight. MSN042 will be ferried to Hamburg for Outfitting next week.

A380 Production Update: April 2010 (#3)

Oliver Gigacz — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:21:07 +0000

MSN042 (Emirates #13) performed it’s first Rejected Take Off test on Friday, after several days of taxi tests. Tuesday is a safe bet for it’s first flight.

Image Courtesy of David Barrie

A380 Production Update: April 2010 (#2)

Oliver Gigacz — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 02:45:15 +0000

To finish off the week, a surprise. MSN056 (Emirates #14) has finished Final Assembly and is now situated on the flightline next to MSN047 (Qantas #7). This really was a real surprise to us, as we thought MSN052 (Air France #5) would be completed first. This makes two A380s to jump ahead of MSN052, the first being MSN042 (Emirates #13).

MSN056 can be seen behind MSN047.

MSN048 (Lufthansa #4) is now going through final checks, prior to it’s first engine run late next week.

We mentioned in our last post, That MSN002 (Private) is to be stored on the flightline until 2012. Well due the large number of A380s already on the flightline, MSN002 has been transferred to a hangar.

Images Courtesy of DigitalAirliners

A380 Production Update: April 2010 (#1)

Oliver Gigacz — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:18:54 +0000

This week we got confirmation that MSN002 (Private) will be staying in Toulouse until 2012. Over the past few months MSN002 has had new doors and windows installed, Plus being emptied of all Airbus test equipment.

The wings have now been covered with a white film, the same type that is covered on new wings arriving via convoy. It costs Airbus €50,000 for the film to be applied to the wings.

MSN042 (Emirates #13) is currently scheduled to perform it’s Rejected Take Off test today. First flight will probably be on Tuesday, followed by a ferry flight to Hamburg a few days later.

A380 Production Update: March 2010 (#11)

Oliver Gigacz — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:38:04 +0000

MSN042 (Emirates #13) has completed it’s first engine tests and is scheduled to start taxi tests tomorrow.

Convoy #6/2010 has been announced and is scheduled to start on April 5th. The convoy will be carrying a wing pair and tailplane for MSN064 (Air France #5) plus a forward fuselage for an unknown MSN.

MSN002 (Private) has been moved back in to the hangars after spending about two weeks on the flightline, to have it’s engines installed.

A380 Production Update: March 2010 (#8)

Oliver Gigacz — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:08:52 +0000

Some interesting news to start the week off. MSN002 (Private) has been transferred from the refitting hangar to the flightline. The frame looks like it’s about to go into long term storage (We are yet to confirm this).

MSN002 is still scheduled for delivery in Q2/Q3 2010, This is now likely to change, So keep checking back.

MSN048 (Lufthansa #4) was rolled out of the Final Assembly Line late last week. MSN048 has been completed for a few weeks, But with a small electrical fault the roll out was delayed.

Delivery for MSN048 is currently scheduled for late Q3 2010. This will most likely slip into Q4.

MSN047 (Qantas #7) was finally moved from the flightline hangars to the flightline last week. MSN047 made it’s first flight in August last year and was put into long term storage at request from Qantas.

MSN047 will be transferred to Hamburg shortly.

The Emirates A380 behind MSN047, is MSN042, the thirteenth for the airline. MSN042 rolled out of Final Assembly two weeks ago, but only now a photo has been sent to us.

MSN028 (Emirates #10) was transferred to the Hamburg flightline last week, after completing four months of outfitting.

Image Courtesy of Phil Gallerand

A380 Production Update: March 2010 (#4)

Oliver Gigacz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:43:07 +0000

Convoy #5/2010 has been announced and is scheduled to arrive in Toulouse on the 24th March. Convoy #5 will be carrying the Center and Rear Fuselage for MSN064 (Air France #6).

In our last post we mentioned that spotters in Toulouse reportedly claimed that MSN042 (Emirates #12) was on the flightline. We can now confirm this is true and that MSN042 is complete.

The roll out of MSN042 is a surprise to us as MSN042 arrived in Toulouse after MSN048 (Lufthansa #4) and MSN052 (Air France #5). We are unsure if Emirates requested that MSN042 be put ahead of MSN048 and MSN052, or if there were delays in the production of MSN048 and MSN052.

MSN048 is on target to be rolled out late this week.

Last Thursday night MSN057 (Emirates #15) reentered Final Assembly after a months stay on the flightline waiting for MSN042 to be completed.