MSN95, British Airways’ first A380 double-decker superjumbo has emerged from the most important paint hangar on the earth after being emblazoned with the airline’s famous red, white and blue livery.
Twenty-four painters at Airbus’ Hamburg hangar spent two weeks on eight movable platforms as much as 30 metres from the floor applying five coats of red, white and blue gloss paint to the massive aircraft.
The work was conducted by hand using spray guns, traditional paint rollers and small paint brushes.
The specialists, who spent three years training to be told the right way to paint an A380, used 2,300 litres of paint to hide a place of three,500 square metres.
Although the complete weight of the five layers of paint covering the aircraft weighs around 650kg, the paint applied isn’t any thicker than a human hair.
One of the foremost challenging aspects for the Airbus team was painting the ten,000 black and white dots at the tailfin of the aircraft.
Christoph Hettwer, senior manager Airbus A380 paintshop, said: “This was a tough task – you’ll be able to imagine someone needed to peel off the thousands of little dots from a stencil – but now it’s finished it looks great”.
The A380 now has all of its cabins installed and can be flown to Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, where it should begin its final stage of checks before being handed over to British Airways in July.
Inspecting the aircraft, James Lewis, British Airways’ A380 build manager, said, “This is essentially the mostsome of the most exciting project I’ve ever been focused on, and it’s been a privilege for me to look at this aircraft evolve.
The excitement at Airbus and British Airways is building as we get nearer to taking delivery of the A380 this summer. We can’t watch for our customers to experience our wonderful new aircraft.”
Recommended