The Airbus A380, the worlds largest commercial aircraft, touched down at Wittman Regional Airport for the first time EAA's AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI.
MSN004 completed the 127 km (69 nm) flight to Oshkosh at 1515 CDT (2015 GMT) after a seven-minute flying display for the assembled crowd that showed off the aircraft's envelope protection and slow speed handling qualities.
The landing on runway 36, which is 2438m (8,000 ft) long, was made significantly more challenging as there is only one taxiway able to accommodate the A380 1676m (5,500 ft) down the runway.
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Adding to the difficulty of the landing was a perpendicular 14-knot crosswind gusting to 23 knots. The A380, MSN004, powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines crabbed significantly on final approach to runway 36.
After landing, Whitman Airport brought in a special sized tug from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to accommodate the superjumbo.
Airbus CEO Tom Enders was on hand to welcome the arrival of the superjumbo into Oshkosh along with other company executives.
MSN004 will spend Tuesday through Thursday on static display on the ramp which is one foot wider than the 79.8m (262-ft) wingspan of the A380.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
