A380 Airbus EDF HQ

About

The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger airliner ever built. Developed by Airbus through the late 1990s and early 2000s as a direct competitor to the Boeing 747 in the very-large-aircraft segment, the A380 prototype made its first flight on April 27, 2005, and the type entered commercial service with Singapore Airlines on October 25, 2007. Total production reached 251 airframes before Airbus announced the program's wind-down in 2019, with the last A380 delivered in 2021.

The A380 is the only operational airliner with a full-length double deck — main deck and upper deck running the entire length of the fuselage — giving it the cabin volume to seat over 850 passengers in maximum-density configuration, although typical airline arrangements carry 400-600 passengers in two- or three-class layouts. Four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7000 turbofans, a wingspan exceeding 261 feet, and a maximum takeoff weight of 575 tonnes make it the most ambitious civil aircraft program of the early twenty-first century.

The A380's commercial fate was complicated. While airlines and passengers loved the aircraft for its quiet cabin and onboard amenities (some operators installed showers, bars, and lounges in their A380 fleets), the four-engine economics suffered against newer twin-engine widebodies like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, leading to the program's eventual cancellation. The unmistakable A380 silhouette — full-length double-deck fuselage, four engines, slightly upturned winglets — is one of the most ambitious civil-aviation RC scale subjects, typically tackled at giant-scale by serious EDF builders.

In the simulator

The most ambitious widebody jet scale subject in this pack. Four EDF units, substantial inertia, and the kind of approach speeds that put a real A380 pilot through years of type training. Use it for serious large-aircraft pattern flying.