Yesteryear

10 years ago

The maiden flight of the first Airbus A380, F-WWOW, took place on April 27 from Blagnac Airport, Toulouse. The aircraft took off with a weight of 421 tonnes, the highest ever by a commercial airliner. A 2,500-hour test program conducted by five aircraft will now commence leading to European and US certification and an entry into service with Singapore Airlines in the latter half of 2006. Orders are held for 154 A380s.

Reductions in procurement of the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor were contained in the FY06 US defense budget, covering the period October 1 2005 to September 30 2006, sent to Congress by President George W Bush. The original 750 F/A-22s expected in plans in the early 1990s have now been further reduced from the later planned acquisition of 282 down to 191 aircraft, with the USAF having stated that it has a minimum requirement for 380.