From Aviationweek.com 2005 April
Airbus pilots said the first A380 and its engines handled exactly as planned during the plane's four-hour first flight, which marked the beginning of the aircraft's extensive flight-testing program.
"Within the first minutes of the flight, we were impressed by the ease of handling of the aircraft which was in line with what we had felt in the simulator...We have no doubt any Airbus pilot would immediately feel at home in the A380," said Chief Test Pilot Jacques Rosay. The systems and the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines also "performed satisfactorily," Airbus said.
The A380 flight landed at Toulouse after a three-hour, 54 minute flight around Southwest France. Its takeoff weight was 421 tonnes (928,300 pounds), the heaviest ever for a civil airliner takeoff. Airbus said the six crewmembers "explored the aircraft's flight envelope," and all primary flight test objectives were met. Five A380s will be used in a 2,500-hour flight test program. One A380 will be used to certify the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine.
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