The A380 is assembled in Toulouse, France, where all major sections are joined together. Individual sections of the A380, however, are assembled at other European plants in Germany, the UK, Spain and France.
A380 fuselage section in Hamburg The Hamburg plant delivers three A380 fuselage sections: the forward section behind the cockpit, the rear fuselage section, and the upper half of the fuselage shell above the wings which is transported to St Nazaire for further assembly. As part of the final assembly activities, the foundation stone for the A380 equipment hall was officially laid on 7th May 2004 at the Airbus plant in Hamburg-Finkenwerder.
A380 wing in Broughton Wings for the A380 are designed and built at Airbus´ two sites in the UK, Filton, near Bristol and Broughton, North Wales. In Broughton, the 83,500 square metre (over 900,000 sq ft) facility was built to house wing assembly for the A380 as well as other aircraft manufacturing activity. At more than 400m (1,310 ft) long, 200m (656 ft) wide and with a peak height of 35m (115 ft), the floor area of the West Factory is equivalent to 12 full size football pitches.
Final assembly line in Hamburg Hamburg, headquarters of Airbus Deutschland and the largest site in Germany, employs more than 10,000 people and plays a decisive role in the development and engineering of all Airbus aircraft. Final assembly takes place here for three of the four members of the A320 Family - the A318, A319 and A321- and soon also for the A320. Hamburg is headquarters of the Centre of Excellence for cabin and cargo customisation, and also is the site where A300/A310, and A320 Family aircraft have their cabin interiors fitted and where they are painted ready for final delivery. Hamburg will carry out the complete interior furnishing of the A380 cabins and painting of the aircraft. In addition, final acceptance and delivery of A380s to customers in Europe and the Middle East takes place in Hamburg.
A340 Final assembly line in Toulouse The 800th model of the A330/A340 family was delivered on March 2007. Production rates are currently seven aircraft per month and this is due to increase to eight per month by the beginning of 2008 and nine per month by the middle of 2009. the final assembly line (FAL) is in Toulouse in the so called Clement-Ader Hall. The A330/A340 is a unique family of five aircraft models in operation in the 250 to 375 seats category.
Wing equipment center in Bremen. More than 3,100 persons are employed at Bremen, the second largest Airbus site in Germany. Here, the whole process chain for the high-lift elements of Airbus wings is established, with the project office, technology engineering, flight physics, system engineering, structure development, verification tests, structural assembly, wing equipping and then delivery to the final assembly line. In addition, Bremen is part of the Centre of Excellence for forward and aft fuselages, and it manufactures sheet metal parts like clips and thrust crests for all Airbus aircraft.
Production vertical stabilizers in Stade The vertical tail planes for all Airbus aircraft are produced at Stade. The site has become one of the world's leading centres in the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), the weight-saving composite material which Airbus has increasingly incorporated into its aircraft, including the vertical tail plane. Stade employs nearly 1,500 people, and also produces other components from CFRP, such as landing flaps for single-aisle aircraft, and spoilers for the A300-600R, A310, A330 and A340. The pressure bulkheads for the A330, A340 and A380 are included in Stade's production responsibilities.
Production horizontal stabilizers in Getafe New assembly halls for the A380 horizontal tailplane and belly fairing have been built at Getafe and Puerto Real in Spain. The fuselage`s rear section where the horizontal and vertical tailplanes are joined, the rear fuselage tail cone which houses the auxiliary power unit are also designed, developed, manufactured and assembled at Getafe. These are the first fuselage sections made from carbon fibre for a commercial aircraft carrying more than 100 passengers.
A380 Tailcone in Getafe. New assembly halls for the A380 horizontal tailplane and belly fairing have been built at Getafe and Puerto Real in Spain. The fuselage's rear section where the horizontal and vertical tailplanes are joined, the rear fuselage tail cone which houses the auxiliary power unit are also designed, developed, manufactured and assembled at Getafe. These are the first fuselage sections made from carbon fibre for a commercial aircraft carrying more than 100 passengers.
Transport A380 (Toulouse) Delivery of MSN002 wings of the A380 - Road transport to the Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France. The size of the major components of the A380 presented Airbus with a new challenge: indeed as they could not be transported for final assembly to Toulouse using the A300-600 Super Transporter, Airbus devised its own land and sea transport network, using specially-designed barges and road trailers, a ship and groundbreaking technology to overcome obstacles.
Airbus assembly halls in Toulouse Nearly 11,500 people are employed at sites in Toulouse, where is the Headquarters and where the final assembly of all Airbus aircraft takes place except for the A318, A319 and A321 (which are performed in Germany). A new final assembly line has been built especially for the A380. One of the largest construction jobs of its kind in the world, it is named after the late Jean-Luc Lagardère, who was co-chairman of Airbus' main shareholder, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). Final assembly of Airbus aircraft includes joining the forward, centre and aft fuselage sections, mating the wings to the fuselage, which is followed by the installation of the horizontal tail plane, fin, engine pylons, landing gear and engines. Integration of the systems in the cockpit, plus system tests, also are carried out, including avionics, electrical, hydraulic, flight control, air conditioning, fuel tank pressurization and landing gear.
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