Pic(k) of the week 20: Powering the Airbus A380

October 2012, I started my conversion as a Captain onto the Airbus A380. Having completed 6 months of flying the super-jumbo all over the world, it has become my preferred Airbus from a pilots perspective. More than a decade ago, I've flew the smaller A319, A320 and A321 for my national airline in Belgium, while the last ten years were spent on the twin engine A330 and the larger four-engine A340's.

The 569 ton A380 is powered by four Engine Alliance GP7270 engines delivering a mind boggling 140.000 lbs of total thrust. The Engine Alliance joint-venture between General Electric and Pratt & Witney was formed in 1996 to combine the best of the mighty GE90 and the PW4000 engines. Both of these can be found on B777 aircraft.

The GP7270 engine has a diameter of 3.16 m compared to 3.40 m for the GE90 which powers the Boeing B777-300ER. The latter however develops significant more thrust, 115000 lbs compared to 70000 lbs.

2013 Pic(k) of the week 20: Powering the Airbus A380

The image above shows the left outer (engine 1) engine of the A380 on the ramp in Auckland, New Zealand earlier in the month.

Image details:
Fuji X-E1 with the 18-55 lens
ISO400, 36mm, f 6.4, 1/180s
RAW development in Lightroom 4.4
Nik SilverEfex for Black and White conversion


Next week, I'll be off to the South of France, where I'll bring you some more "Aviation photography" from the 60th anniversary of French team Patrouille de France.

Meanwhile, more Airline photography can be found here.

Remember with regards to engine power: "Lots is good, more is better and too much is just enough".

BJORN





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