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Whether "Planezilla," the 600-plus-seat superjumbo planned by Boeing and the Airbus partners as the first global monopoly airliner, ever flexes its mighty wings in airline service depends on a host of economic, political and industrial factors. As joint studies progress, however, the increasingly clear message is that the monster, formally known as the ultrahigh-capacity aircraft (UHCA), presents an array of technical challenges that could be politely called interesting.
Willy-Pierre Dupont, Airbus studies coordinator in Aerospatiale's future projects division, identifies the mother of all hurdles: Accommodating at least 50% more passengers than the 747 in an aircraft that will fit into existing airports. If it does not fit today's infrastructure, it almost certainly will not be built at all.
In 1966, when Boeing launched the 747, most airports were still running to catch up with an industry booming at double-digit rates. They could accommodate the forthcoming jumbos by changing the blueprints for their expansion plans. Today, the industry is mature and growing more slowly. Few airports are adding new terminals, let alone runways.
This constrains Planezilla's length and wingspan. The latter dictates how much ramp the aircraft needs to load and unload. If the wings are so large that they block adjacent gates, says Dupont, one goal of the UHCA to increase the overall capacity of the air transport system-is defeated.
Also, the span may be limited by the width of taxiways, the distance between adjacent taxiways and clearance between taxiways and parked aircraft. According to Dupont, the message from the airlines to Aerospatiale is that the UHCA should have a wingspan of no more than 260 ft. A 213 ft. span---the same as that of the 747-400--is desirable.
Length is limited, too. Aircraft nosed into the gate should not leave their tails in the taxiway. Many airports have "finger style" terminals and the space between them may not be large enough to park and maneuver very long aircraft.
The aircraft must be able to rotate to a nose-high angle to take off, so the height of the landing gear must be proportional to the length of the airplane to provide enough clearance for the tail. This effect can be seen on the Boeing 757, a long, thin airplane that sits quite high off the ground....