Thursday, October 16, 2008
Hyderabad: While Hyderabad was more or less cold to the Surya Kiran air show on the opening day of the India Aviation-2008, it gave a rapturous response to the A-380’s maiden arrival to the twin cities today.
When the super jumbo was still a blip south of the Begumpet airport, every neck in and around the airport craned to follow its flight. Near the tarmac it was quite something else.
The aircraft which flew directly from the Airbus manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France approached the runway and then proceeded very slowly across the terminal to gain altitude again. Fifteen minutes later at 12.21 p.m. it touched down from the northern side. The double-deck, wide-body aircraft was made more awesome by the fact that the noise from the four-engined aircraft was not more than a strong hum and far removed from the deafening jet blasts from regular aircrafts.
While all were taken in by the spectacle, keen cameramen and videographers scaled the four-feet high metal barricade and went close to the runway to get an even better angle of the aircraft. Security men then rushed in with ropes to prevent them from getting any closer to the aircraft.
They, however, were helped by two fire tenders who acted as water cannons to spray water on the aircraft to welcome it. It could not taxi to its designated area as sufficient place was not created in the display zone that could accommodate its 80 meters span. The cockpit window opened and test pilot Mr Jean-Michel Roy waved the Tricolour. This caused a literal frenzy across the arena.
16/10/08 Stanley Theodore/The Statesman
When the super jumbo was still a blip south of the Begumpet airport, every neck in and around the airport craned to follow its flight. Near the tarmac it was quite something else.
The aircraft which flew directly from the Airbus manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France approached the runway and then proceeded very slowly across the terminal to gain altitude again. Fifteen minutes later at 12.21 p.m. it touched down from the northern side. The double-deck, wide-body aircraft was made more awesome by the fact that the noise from the four-engined aircraft was not more than a strong hum and far removed from the deafening jet blasts from regular aircrafts.
While all were taken in by the spectacle, keen cameramen and videographers scaled the four-feet high metal barricade and went close to the runway to get an even better angle of the aircraft. Security men then rushed in with ropes to prevent them from getting any closer to the aircraft.
They, however, were helped by two fire tenders who acted as water cannons to spray water on the aircraft to welcome it. It could not taxi to its designated area as sufficient place was not created in the display zone that could accommodate its 80 meters span. The cockpit window opened and test pilot Mr Jean-Michel Roy waved the Tricolour. This caused a literal frenzy across the arena.
16/10/08 Stanley Theodore/The Statesman
Labels: A380, Airbus, Aircraft Manufacturer, Europe
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