The Airbus

A380 is

a double-deck, wide-body,

four-engine jet

airliner manufactured

by European Union manufacturer Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner, and the airports
at which it operates have upgraded facilities to accommodate it. It was initially named Airbus
A3XX and designed to challenge Boeing's monopoly in the large-aircraft market. The A380 made its
first flight on 27 April 2005 and entered commercial service in 25 October 2007 with Singapore
Airlines.
The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage, with a width equivalent to a
wide-body aircraft. This gives the A380-800's cabin 550 square metres (5,920 sq ft) of usable floor
space,[7] 40% more than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-8,[8] and provides seating for 525
people in a typical three-class configuration or up to 853 people in an all-economy
class configuration. The A380-800 has a design range of 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km), serving
the second longest non-stop scheduled flight in the world, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about
900 km/h, 560 mph or 490 kn atcruising altitude).
As of July 2016, Airbus had received 319 firm orders and delivered 193 aircraft; Emirates is the
biggest A380 customer with 142 ordered of which 81 have been delivered. [2] Thai Airways
International, British Airways, Asiana Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Air France are
other operators.

The first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) powered by liquid hydrogen is the Global
Observer UAV, a 15-m (50-ft) wingspan prototype of which successfully flew at the US Army's Yuma
Proving Grounds in Arizona, on 26 May 2005; results of which were announced at the Association
for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America
Conference in June 2005. The Global Observer UAV will enable communications relay, remote
sensing for military and commercial missions. It uses fuel-cell-powered electric motors to drive eight
propellers. It is reported that it is able to store enough energy to keep it airborne through the night
and can, therefore, remain in operation at altitudes of up to 19,810 m (65,000 ft) for longer than a
week at a time.

The Airlander 10 in flight, after taking off from Cardington airfield in Bedfordshire, England,
Wednesday Aug. 17, 2016. A blimp-shaped airship billed as the world's largest aircraft has taken off
for the first time, days after an earlier attempt was scuttled by a last-minute technical hitch. The 302foot (92-meter) Airlander 10nicknamed the "flying bum" because of its bulbous front endrose
slowly into the air Wednesday from an airfield 45 miles (73 kilometers) north of London.
The Airlander is designed to use less fuel than a plane, but carry heavier loads than
conventional airships. Its developer, Hybrid Air Vehicles, says it can reach 16,000 feet (4,900
meters), travel at up to 90 mph (148 kph) and stay aloft for up to two weeks. It can also carry up to
10 metric tons (22,050 pounds) of passengers or cargo. The company hopes to have an even
bigger aircraft, capable of carrying 50 metric tons (110,000 pounds), in service by the early 2020s.