airbus

Airbus starts up assembly line for new A350

Airbus yesterday formally opened the assembly line of its next-generation A350 when it began final construction of the first test aircraft in Toulouse, France.

The center fuselage section, which arrived at the company's production facility in the belly of an A300-600T (aka the Beluga), can now be joined with the forward fuselage section already in place. Next to come will be the wings and aft fuselage, which are currently being built in plants in Germany and the United Kingdom

The first aircraft, MSN5000, will be used only for static testing on the ground. According to FlightBlogger's Jon Ostrower (… Read more

How you, too, can ID that airliner

I live in a place that a lot of big airplanes fly over just after taking off from San Francisco International Airport. While I'm by no means perfect at it, I can often tell you what kind of jet is overhead, and even where it's going. There's a lot of people like me.

But there's also people who don't know anything about planes, and who can't tell the difference between very distinct behemoths like Boeing's 747 and Airbus' A380, let alone jets that on quick inspection look very similar, like Boeing's 737 … Read more

World's largest passenger plane may be unsafe, some say

The world's largest passenger plane may not be sky-worthy, some aircraft engineers in Australia are saying.

The BBC reports that the engineers are concerned about small cracks that have appeared on the wing ribs of some Airbus A380 airplanes, and that they're calling for the whole fleet to be grounded for investigation.

The cracks were found on A380s operated by Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways, the BBC reports, and Singapore Airlines says it has repaired the wings of two of its A380s.

Airbus recommends that airlines check for cracks but says they present no real danger. The BBC … Read more

Culture: Five predictions for 2012

Here at Geek Gestalt, every day is different. The world of geek culture is broad--sometimes bewilderingly so. A typical year's coverage can easily include stories on everything from Burning Man to Lego, aviation to 3D printing, NASA to tech startups, MythBusters to Pixar movies, and so on.

That makes coming up with predictions for next year in culture a difficult task--but we're here to serve, so that's just we're offering. Of course, trying to settle on just five ideas for 2012 means leaving a lot of things out.

Still, prognosticating culture's next steps meant talking … Read more

The giant Airbus A380 and the tiny French village

LEVIGNAC, France--I'm looking up toward the sky at two things you wouldn't expect to be right next to each other. One is the "boulangerie" sign outside the bakery in this tiny French village. The other is the "Airbus A380" logo emblazoned on the protective cover on one end of a segment of giant airplane fuselage.

Why would two such things be next to each other? Because late Friday night, a truck convoy carrying all the major components of the next A380 that Airbus will build--the world's largest passenger plane, a full double-decker … Read more

Building the A380, the world's largest passenger plane

BLAGNAC, France--What would you do with nearly 6,000 square feet of private airplane?

That's the question I'm asking myself as I look up at what will soon be one of the largest private planes in the world--an Airbus A380 slated for an unknown buyer. Two full decks of luxury in the sky, right in front of me, and sadly, I won't get to see what it looks like.

But I do get to see how A380s are made. As part of Road Trip 2011, I've come here to Airbus' Jean-Luc Lagardere plant, just outside Toulouse, … Read more

Paris Air Show: Boeing and a whole lot more (roundup)

For aviation junkies, it doesn't get any better than the biggest air show of the year. CNET's coverage includes on-the-scene reporting from our own Daniel Terdiman.

Siemens hybrid electric aircraft debuts in Paris The serial hybrid electric drive train that powers the glider is similar in concept to that of the Chevy Volt. (Posted in Green Tech by Candace Lombardi) June 23, 2011 10:04 AM PDT

Raytheon sells high-tech situational awareness At Paris show, military contractor is showcasing new technologies, including one intended to allow commanders in the field to triangulate multiple sources of intelligence data. • Photos: Aviation world jets into Paris Air Show (… Read more

In Paris, the 747-8 Intercontinental paints the town orange

PARIS--As he neared the end of the nearly 10-hour flight from Everett, Wash., to the French capital and the Paris Air Show here, Boeing chief pilot Mark Feuerstein got some unexpected gratification.

"It was a real quiet flight over," Feuerstein said of the trip that began just an hour north of Seattle, where Boeing builds many of its biggest passenger planes. "But as we approached Paris, it became a big deal. People knew who we were, on the radio. It was exciting. A lot of the pilots in the area saw us and were commenting, asking, 'Is … Read more

The 404 839: Where Obama drops the axe on Weiner (podcast)

Continuing our Justin Yu-less week, we've got Joe Kaminsky filling in. We'll ask him about his first initial impressions of the Wii U and if he thinks Nintendo's next console has the goods. We're starting to hear that it's 50 percent more powerful than the PS3, but is that even impressive?

Speaking of things that are remarkably unimpressive, Duke Nukem Forever hits stores today and we'll round up reviews from around the net. They are not positive.

Have you heard about the Airbus of 2050? It's almost transparent! Tune in to see just how terrifying this sounds to Jeff and why he'd rather be put to sleep like how Bruce Willis was in "The Fifth Element."

The 404 Digest for Episode 839

The Airbus of 2050 really freaks us out. The Wii U is supposedly 50 percent more powerful than the Xbox 360/PS3. Big deal. Duke Nukem Forever? Not so much. Odds are we know your iPhone lock password. Apple starts selling unlocked iPhone 4s.

Episode 839 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more