Oxford Classic Motor Club

This was the story of the Airbus A380 from its inception to its entry into service, a period of nearly 20 years!

The lifeline of the project was described, starting with the traffic projections and airline requirements, the resulting details of the aircraft and the key issues for such a large aircraft:

  •  choice of fuselage cross section
  •  wing design
  •  weight reduction
  •  ground handling etc.

and continuing to manufacture, flight test and its (late) entry into service.

The lecture finished with a review of the new economic and environmental drivers for future large civil aircraft, and some of the new technologies and aircraft configurations we may see beyond the current A380.

You can read more details of the A380 on the Airbus web site.

Airbus's 21st century flagship has made its name as the world's largest, greenest passenger aircraft, and has captured the imagination of air passengers everywhere.

Airbus has gone to great lengths to make long-haul flying aboard the A380 feel more natural, with broader seats, more personal storage, better head room and wider stairs. The cabin air is recycled every three minutes to keep the atmosphere fresh. Natural light is provided by 220 cabin windows. Four high-level air outlets instead of the traditional two helps passengers to feel fresher, both during and after the flight.

The wide open spaces outside the A380 benefit from its design, too. By producing only about 75 g of CO₂ per passenger kilometre, well below current international limits.

The A380 is helping the aviation industry's commitment to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.

Pilots may be interested in this 360 degree view of the A380 flighdeck.

Jeff graduated from Queens' College Cambridge in 1964 with first class honours in Aeronautical Engineering. He started his career in the Aerodynamics Department at Hawker Siddeley, Hatfield, working on the HS146 Regional Jet and the A310 Airbus, before moving with the Airbus project to British Aerospace at Filton, Bristol in 1984.

He was appointed Chief Engineer for the "Common Wing" for the A330/A340 aircraft in 1987 and Engineering Director in 1993 responsible for the teams working mainly on wing development and support work for all Airbus aircraft. He retired as Technical Director Airbus UK in December 2001. Shortly before retiring he directed the UK team working with Airbus France to restore Concorde to service following the tragic accident in Paris in July 2000.

Jeff is currently a Visiting Professor at Bath University and Jiao Tong University Shanghai. He is the joint holder of the 1987 Royal Society "Esso Energy Award" Gold Medal (for the design of fuel efficient wings for Airbus), the Royal Aeronautical Society 1992 British Bronze Medal and the 2002 Society Gold Medal, and four RAeS awards for published papers.