One of the two A380s in the Airbus fl ight-test programme was positioned to South America last week for hot-and-high trials. The aircraft,MSN004, began its Latin American excursion when it landed at José María Córdova international airport in Medellín, Colombia following an 8,470km (4,580nm) fl ight from Toulouse with a crew of 35 fl ight-test personnel.
Hot-and-high altitude performance tests are traditionally undertaken at El Alto airport in La Paz, Bolivia which has an airfi eld elevation of in excess of 13,000ft (3,940m). MSN004 is painted allwhite as it was recently adorned with Emirates’ decals for November’s Dubai air show. Certifi cation of the 550-seater is due towards the end of 2006, ahead of service entry with Singapore Airlines.
Source: Flight International
