The Airbus A380, the worlds largest commercial aircraft, touched down at Wittman Regional Airport for the first time EAA’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI this afternoon at 3:15 PM CT.
MSN004 arrived in the skies over Oshkosh to perform a seven-minute flying display for the assembled crowd that showed off the aircraft’s envelope protection and slow speed handling qualities.
The aircraft’s landing on runway 36, which is 8,000 ft long, was made significantly more challenging as there is only one taxiway able to accommodate the A380 5,500 ft down the runway.
Adding to the difficulty of the landing was a perpendicular (270 degrees) 14-knot crosswind gusting to 23 knots at the time of touchdown.
The challenging approach saw the A380, powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, crabbing significantly on final approach to runway 36. (“Analysis” of the landing)
MSN004 will spend Tuesday through Thursday on static display on the ramp which is one foot wider than the 262-ft wingspan of the A380.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.