FLIGHTS OF FANCY...
Regardless of whether you look at this plane with delight or dread, April 27, 2005 was a special day for kids everywhere who love planes, be they eight or eighty. The new heavyweight champion of the commercial aviation world, the A380, had its first taste of air and altitude, taking off and landing safely after a four-hour, ten thousand feet flight in Blagnac, southwest France.
Even if you're not into airplanes, the flight is notable if only for the reason that this plane will likely be part of our travel landscape for decades to come. Over 150 A380s have been ordered by over a dozen world airlines, with more likely to follow.
In fact, this flight is thirty-six years after my first love (in the world of airplanes), the always amazing Boeing 747, took to the air on its first maiden voyage February 9, 1969. Over 1300 747s have been ordered over its multi-decade history.
1969 was special for travel anywhere, since not only did the first human land on the moon then, but the supersonic Concorde and the elegant QE2 had its maiden flight and voyage respectively that year, along with the world's first "Jumbo" jet. 
The 747 was the plane that truly galvanized my life-long love of planes and flight. Even today it remains for me one of the most beautiful planes ever designed.
The A380, remarkable on so many fronts and dimensions, does not evoke the same response, but it's early and I have yet to see and fly it in person. Having said that, even as a kid, I didn't have to see and/or fly on the 747 to connect with it at first glance.
No question the A380 is imposing relative to the 747, as the picture below shows (click for larger image on all the pictures). 
Note particularly at the bottom of the chart, the scale of the aircraft next to the "other double-decker", the iconic London double-decker bus, which incidentally celebrated its 50 year anniversary last year.
At worse, the A380 looks like a super-sized version of a regular Airbus, and at best a dolphin flying through the air. Whereas the previous champ evoked a personal connection with almost everyone who first saw it, this one is brusquely utilitarian. I can almost hear it hoarsely spitting out the line from "The Godfather III":
"it's not personal, it's business".
More practical sorts will obviously wonder about the commercial impact of the aircraft on the aviation market, or the inevitable impact on the ecology of major airports everywhere. With a maximum capacity of almost a thousand souls (in the "ultra-sardine" configuration), one can only imagine the time it will take to get on and off these things, not to mention getting one's luggage.
On the other end of the spectrum, it'll be interesting to see which global tycoon will be the first to get one of these for personal use. It'll also be interesting to see which non-US head of state will get one as their official transport to counter the main ride of the leader of the free world today.
Let's see, Jacques Chirac, France's President, did seem impressed by the A380:
"A new page in aviation history has been written. It is a magnificent result of European industrial cooperation...a crowning achievement of a human and industrial adventure''
It would be interesting...Armée de l'air Un next to Air Force One at a summit meeting near you.
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