After completing a detailed study into the A380's effect on runways, Airbus says that the initial -800 passenger model's pavement loading will be similar to that of the Boeing 777-300ER.
The manufacturer has completed a six-year pavement experimental programme (PEP), which studied the behaviour of flexible and rigid pavements under the weight of aircraft. Airbus has presented the results to the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Airbus claims the A380's weight per wheel is similar to that of the 777-300ER and 3,200kg heavier than that of the 747-400 (see table).
The level of impact that an aircraft inflicts on a runway is rated with an Aircraft Classification Number (ACN), and A380 programme senior infrastructure engineer Cyril Fabre says that the tests showed that the A380's "ACN is very close to the 777-300ER and is comparable with other 777 models and the 747".
The two-phase PEP started with flexible pavement tests between July 1998 and July 2000. The second phase, between July 2001 and November 2003, covered rigid pavement tests. Two experimental runway sections were built for the tests at Airbus's Toulouse site, which used a test vehicle to investigate various A380 landing gear configurations.
Analysis of the rigid pavement test results should be completed by the end of the year, when Airbus hopes to prove again that the A380's main landing-gear configuration, which comprises large bogies incorporating four (wing gear) and six (body gear) wheels, can keep pavement wear below the levels inflicted by a 777.
ROB COPPINGER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
