All language subtitles for Mighty.Planes.S01E03.Airbus.A380.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

[Narrator] Move over, jumbo
jet!

This is the Airbus A380--

the world's largest
passenger plane.

It's fast, fuel efficient,

and holds over 500
with room to spare.

[Man] It's a big day,
it's a big lady.

[Narrator] A game changer
that's also a big gamble.

[Man] For everybody

there will be some kind of
a learning curve there.

[Narrator] Airlines like
Lufthansa are betting on it

to win over customers and
maximize profits.

[Man] Welcome to
a very special occasion.

[Narrator] They're about to
send their newest A380

into uncharted territory...

[Co-pilot] Rotate.

[Narrator] ...where it will
need to prove it's worth
every penny.

Frankfurt airport--

the main hub for Lufthansa.

The German carrier operates

the world's fourth largest
fleet of passenger planes.

But they're struggling with
a growing problem.

While the demand for air
travel is increasing,

many busy airports
have already maxed out

on takeoff and landing slots.

Airport congestion is
ironically killing profits.

Enter the Airbus A380,

the world's largest
passenger plane.

It carries 100 more
passengers than a 747

but burns 12% less fuel.

It should be
a winning combination--

lower gas bills and
more paying customers.

Lufthansa's target
is a fleet of 15,

and today they're about
to buy number eight.

At the airbus delivery center
in hamburg, Germany,

Lufthansa's Heiner Kramer
is about to place

a multi-million dollar bet.

At $375 million,

the A380 is the most
expensive passenger plane
ever made.

[Woman] Good morning, Heiner,
good to see you.

[Heiner Kramer] I have to say
the takeover of the 380 airbus

is a very hard job, because
it is a very big aircraft

and it is a very
complex aircraft.

[Man] A little bit
more work to do.

[Heiner] Let's start.

[Narrator]
In the room with Heiner

are airbus representatives

from the technical and
commercial sides.

Marco Potschkat has overseen
the flight tests

and final inspection
of the A380.

[Marco Potschkat] This is
the actual weighing report

of MSN 70.

[Heiner] Thank you.

[Marco] And this document
describes the electrical status

of the aircraft.

[Narrator] If the performance
data does not measure up,

or he's not satisfied
with the results,

Heiner has the power
to walk away.

[Heiner] A little bit
heart beating

to sign an aircraft,

especially to sign
a 380 aircraft.

[Marco] Well, Heiner,
if you're satisfied

with the documentation
we've provided to you,

then I would be pleased
if you could sign that for me.

[Narrator] The assembly of
Lufthansa's latest A380

began exactly one year ago
in Toulouse, France.

Christopher Stonehouse
is the head

of the A380 customer program.

Since their first delivery
in 2007,

it's been a struggle
to meet their goal

of churning out four
super jumbos every month.

[Chris Stonehouse]
Here at station 40,

we put the whole aircraft
together in one shot.

Each wing weighs in the order
of about 37 tons.

And the fuselage we're looking
at is about 70 tons.

So the parts and sizes are
huge, and they're quite heavy.

[Narrator] Weight and size
are obvious impediments to
speed,

but so, too,
is the supply chain.

Airbus has thousands of
suppliers in 30 countries

building components
for their planes.

The largest are shipped from
the UK, Spain and Germany.

From the Atlantic coast,
they're floated up the
garonne river

before being put
back onto trucks

for the last stage
of the journey.

[Chris] When these sections are
delivered down to Toulouse,

they've all been fully
equipped,

so all of the hydraulic lines
are inside the fuselage,

all of the electrical harnesses
are inside the fuselage,

so it's just a question
of joining it up

and then connecting up
all of the pieces.

[Narrator] And when the giant
sections finally arrive,

airbus expects them
to fit together

with surgical precision.

[Chris] The tolerance
that we're working to

in terms of the wing
to center section joint

is in the order of
about 40 microns.

Now, that might not
mean a lot to you,

but that is basically about the
thickness of a piece of paper.

[Narrator] With such
a complicated process,

it's little wonder that,

while over 200 planes
have been ordered,

to date, only 50
have been delivered.

When completed,

the finished product is a
revolution in aircraft
design.

The A380 is both longer and
taller than the iconic 747.

At almost 260 feet, its
wingspan stretches farther

than the wright brothers'
first flight.

Despite its massive size,

the A380 needs to deliver
maximum fuel economy.

Almost a quarter of its
structure is composite
materials

to reduce weight

and allow airlines to load up
on fancy cabin trimmings.

[Chris] We're looking today
at an airplane

that has a maximum takeoff
weight of nearly 570 tons,

which is quite a lot.

We look at the weights
with the airline

and we're able to see
how much weight is going on

with the special features,
the seats,

the weight of the galleys,
things to heat up towels,

cappuccino machines, toasters.

So all of those items we look
at

to see how much
the total weight will be,

and then the airline
can decide as well

whether or not they want to
take those particular items.

[Narrator]
Every step of the process

is checked and re-checked
by airbus

and then by
Lufthansa representatives.

[Heiner] Sometimes
we're a little bit astonished

about the complexity
of the delivery

and also of the aircraft
itself.

It is very big and very new
from the technical standpoint.

[Marco] It's very important
if a customer declares

an acceptance of an aircraft

from the technical
point of view.

So that is my target.

[Narrator] By this point,

Heiner and his team have
finished kicking the tires.

Now it's time to pay up.

[Ian] Patrick, hi, yes, Ian.

Lufthansa have released
the funds.

Can you check whether
we've received them already?

[Woman] Congratulations!

Thank you so much.

[Narrator]
After a $375 million purchase

anyone might need a drink!

For Lufthansa,

the challenge of building
their latest A380 is over.

But for their expensive
gamble to pay off,

it needs to win over
passengers and airport crews

who have never encountered
an aircraft this size.

[Heiner] And at the moment

the A380 is a white elephant
in the world,

because about 50 aircraft are
flying around the world,

and so all the airports have
to prepare new processes

for this new aircraft.

[Narrator] Lufthansa's
latest purchase

is joining a super jumbo
fleet about to make history

as the first to service

San Francisco's
international terminal.

The A380 is billed
as a fast,

fuel efficient,
and luxurious airliner

that passengers will pay
a premium to experience.

But if it fails to deliver
on those promises,

it's money down the drain.

Their A380s have already
proven themselves a success

on routes into Asia
and South Africa.

Now the push is on to expand
into the united states.

[Carsten Spohr] It's a very
special occasion, indeed.

As a matter of fact,
the first time ever

an airbus A380 is flying
into San Francisco's

on a scheduled service.

[Narrator] Captain Juergen
raps is Lufthansa's chief
pilot

and in command today.

He flew the airline's first
A380 to Johannesburg.

[Juergen Raps]
I would say it was

my baby from the very
beginning,

so I'm happy to have
this flight today.

[Narrator] Together with
captain Ingo Meyerdierks

and first officer
Harald Tschira,

Juergen's reviewing
the flight plan.

[speaking German]

[Narrator] The route to the
U.S. Has been plotted

using a computer program.

Potential traffic jams,
weight and weather

have all been accounted for.

[Juergen] When you have a lot
of wind on your nose, for
instance,

then of course the flight time
is a little bit longer,

up to one hour, even one hour
20 minutes sometimes

on long range flights.

[Narrator] But that's not
what's in store now.

[Juergen] Today,
we have very calm winds

on the north Atlantic,

so the flight time
is pretty fast,

it's 10 1/2 hours.

[Narrator]
And on this maiden voyage,

that's not a good thing.

[Juergen] We will be around
about half an hour early

in San Francisco's,
which is not good,

because all the media
expect us on time.

So we have to lose
some time en route.

[Narrator] Lufthansa expects
pilots to arrive safely

and on time and do it as
efficiently as possible.

They're counting on Juergen
to take only the fuel he
needs.

It's their biggest
expenditure,

and they don't want
to waste a drop.

[Harald Tschira] Just in case.
You never know.

[Narrator] His last order
of business is signing

for the $150,000 worth
of jet fuel

they'll need to reach
San Francisco's.

[Juergen] Voila.

[Narrator] Juergen's a
veteran with the A380.

But the crew on
the receiving end is not.

[Man] 44 right and 45 left.

[Narrator] San Francisco's is
one of America's top ten

busiest airports.

And today, it's about to get
a lot busier.

A decade ago they upgraded
their international terminal

to handle super jumbos,

and now they're about to
welcome

their first regularly
scheduled A380 flight.

[Juergen] I think as it is for
first passenger aircraft,

of this size in San
Francisco's,

of course, I think for
everybody

there will be some kind of
a learning curve there.

[Narrator] On the ramp
in Frankfurt,

it's full steam ahead.

Their historic departure
is one hour away.

600 pieces of luggage,
food for 500,

and tons of fuel for the
journey all need to be
loaded

in a carefully
choreographed sequence.

The hundreds tasked
with getting it ready

work in an imaginary
260-by-260-foot box.

The A380 itself
takes up most of the space

along with the three jetways
required

to get the passengers on
board the double-decker

in 30 minutes.

[speaking German]

[Narrator] Inside the
terminal,

Lufthansa flight manager
Fustero Morales

is the man responsible for
pulling out on time.

[Fustero Morales] If the flight
would be completely full,

we could load more than 500.

[Narrator] With just 30
minutes until boarding
begins,

he feels the pressure.

[Fustero] That's
the biggest challenge,

that's what I'm responsible
for, being on time.

If not, I have to explain why.

[Narrator] To load
his passengers quickly,

he needs his overhead screens
to direct them.

[Fustero] We have a slight
problem with our screen.

[Narrator] But one of them
is on the fritz.

Fustero's roughly
500 passengers

will not be treated equally.

His premium guests
will be welcomed

in the first class cabin
on the upper deck.

With only eight seats,
there's plenty of room

for extending each one
into a bed

almost seven feet in length.

The restrooms are what you
would expect for $10,000 a
ticket.

Another 98 passengers,
sharing the upper deck,

will make do
with business class.

Below them, on the first
floor,

the economy section
holds another 420.

Robert Clayton is
an operations agent,

and he's Fustero's
counterpart on the outside.

Right now he's supervising

the loading of
the luggage and cargo.

[Robert Clayton]
Put it on 22 Romeo

and move one of the baggage
containers on 14 lima.

[Narrator] He's following a
plan that distributes

the weight of the load evenly
for maximum fuel economy.

[Robert] What we have
to watch about

is the balance of the aircraft.

It always depends
on the passengers,

where they are sitting.

If aircraft is not full,
we have sometimes surprises

and maybe 10-15 minutes
before departure

the flight will be
out of balance

and we have to
reposition the load.

[Narrator] It's all going
well

until there's a problem
with catering

that could delay the
boarding.

He heads inside to get
Fustero up to speed.

[Narrator] Fustero can't
board

until the catering guys
are gone, so he's stuck.

[Narrator] At least his
broken screen is well on the
way

to getting fixed.

[Juergen] We are well ahead
of schedule.

[Narrator] Meanwhile, Juergen
preps the rest of his team.

To look after
his 495 passengers,

he'll rely on
a cabin crew of 22.

[Juergen] And the weather
in San Francisco's is crisp,

clear blue skies,

sunshine, top temperature's
around 19 degrees Celsius-wise.

And there is no turbulence or
no weather reported en route

on our way to San Francisco's.

Morgen!

[Fustero] Good morning,
ladies and gentlemen.

Your Lufthansa star alliance
inaugural flight

to San Francisco's
with the airbus A380

is now ready for boarding.

Do you have your boarding pass?

Just through here,
through the entrance.

Everything all right,

we start boarding
first and business class.

So, we are fairly on time.

I suppose in 10 minutes,
we'll have them all.

[Narrator] But 10 minutes
later, things are not good.

[Fustero] So, 30 missing.

Sometimes, I can't explain
where the passengers disappear.

The curtain is rising on
Lufthansa's first A380 flight

to San Francisco's,

but without passengers
the show can't go on.

[Fustero] Passengers
Blays, Bouoy,

Engels, Fruli,
Hoffman, Kruger...

[Narrator] Finally,
the last stragglers appear.

[radio chatter]

[Narrator] Just two minutes
behind schedule,

Juergen's cleared to
the active runway.

Empty, his jet weighed
595,000 pounds.

With fuel, food and
passengers,

it now tips the scales
closer to 1.1 million.

Juergen advances the throttle
and the A380 accelerates.

[Man] Takeoff power is set.

[Narrator] Seconds later,
both pilots confirm

their airspeed indicators
match.

When the cockpit's
automated voice calls out...

...they are committed
to the takeoff.

There's not enough
runway left to stop.

If all goes well,

they'll touch down
in San Francisco

and history will be made.

Juergen engages the A380's
flight management system

that will steer the jet
to California.

He likes to fly it manually,

but not for 11 hours
straight.

[Juergen] I think from
a pilot's point of view,

in spite of its weight
and its size,

it's very responsive,

extremely responsive to the
control inputs by the pilot,

when it is flown manually.

You wouldn't expect
such a heavy aircraft

to respond in such a fast way.

[Narrator] From Frankfurt,

they'll head north over
the Netherlands and the UK,

they'll see Iceland
and Greenland

before turning south
over Canada.

After almost 11 hours
and 5,600 miles later,

they'll finally touch down
in San Francisco's.

[Narrator] A medical
emergency,

severe weather or
a technical glitch

are the only things that can
threaten an on-time arrival.

If the situation is severe
enough to force a landing,

Juergen is prepared.

[Juergen] We always have
alternate airports.

As a matter of fact,
during the whole flight,

also here in this area
on the north Atlantic,

over Iceland, over Greenland,
over northern part of Canada,

we always have to have in mind
airports where you can go down

just in case of
something happens,

in case of emergency
or whatsoever.

[Narrator] Unplanned
diversions can force
passengers

to make a speedy exit.

FAA regulations call for
planes in trouble

to be emptied in
90 seconds flat--

even A380s.

Goodrich, located in
Phoenix, Arizona,

was already well-versed in
building evacuation slides

for large passenger planes.

But when airbus approached
them about the A380,

they needed to think big.

[Tony Pope] The evacuation
of the aircraft

was one of the main challenges
for the A380

because of the upper deck
slides, how high they were,

and getting people down
the slides safely.

[Narrator] 2,400 square feet
of high-strength urethane
fabric

is cut and bonded together
by hand

to fashion one giant slide.

When inflated
they need to be massive,

but in flight they need to
take up as little space as
possible.

[Tony] It's 55 feet long,
an A380 upper deck slide,

and it's amazing that
we can go from this slide

all the way over
to this packed slide

and get it into this small
of a space right here.

[Narrator] Packing them up
is a chore.

The 180-pound slide must fit
into a tiny slot

at the base of the door.

[Man] One, two, three.

[Narrator] Whatever it takes.

Before they can be installed
on an A380,

every slide is tested

in conditions that replicate
a real world emergency.

Right down to
the freezing temperatures

the slides can be at
after an emergency descent

from the ice cold air
at 30,000 feet.

[Man] Ready for deployment.

[Man 2] Three! Two! One!

[Brittany Jasinski]
This one was a success.

It inflated in time,
all the lights are on,

the pressure was correct,

and there's also someone

who was able to slide
down the slide perfectly

without getting hurt.

[Narrator] Back in the air,

Juergen's A380 is cruising
into Canadian airspace

weighing 77 tons less than
it did at takeoff.

Its engines are sipping fuel

at the rate of one gallon
per passenger

for every 60 miles flown.

Meanwhile in San Francisco's,

preparations are in full
swing for the A380's
arrival.

[Denise Stevens] We know that
this is going to be

the first one ready,
so we'll plan it accordingly.

[Narrator] Denise Stevens is
a Lufthansa operations agent

about to experience a
watershed moment in her
career.

After weeks of training,

she'll be in charge of
looking after the A380

while it's on the ground.

She has a tough act to
follow--

her colleagues in Frankfurt
are among the world's best.

[Denise] Okay, so,
we just have to figure out

what our game plan is today,

because this is unusual,
this is not a typical day.

[Narrator] Assisting Denise
is Alkan Arkadas,

a 12-year veteran
at San Francisco's

who knows that today
they'll be making history.

[Alkan Arkadas] All of them
no overhangs.

Okay, thank you. Thanks.

[Denise] You need the voucher?

[Alkan] It's a big day,
it's a big lady.

495 passengers.

[Denise] The plane's coming in
in a little over an hour.

[Narrator] Denise and her
team will have just two
hours

to turn the giant around
and send it back to Europe.

Time will be tight,
and her cast of rookies

will need to bring their
"a" game to make it happen.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
say mach number.

[Harald] Lufthansa 454,
mach decimal 84.

[Narrator]
For the last nine hours

Juergen and his crew
have relied on

the A380's cockpit automation
to monitor their progress.

Every 15 minutes

those same computers have
also been quietly updating

maintenance engineers
back in Frankfurt

about the jet's performance.

Lufthansa's A380s
are checked daily

in a state-of-the-art
facility built exclusively
for the fleet.

[alarm squealing]

[Narrator] Tonight, Thorston
Wachsmann and his team

have just 10 hours
to inspect one

before it leaves for Tokyo
in the morning.

[Thorston Wachsmann] Today,
we're having on this aircraft

from the start of work,
five people at the aircraft.

We've got a whole bunch
of work to do

because there are many jobs
between our weekly check.

[Narrator] The goal is to use
the A380's self-monitoring

to be proactive,

fixing snags before
they become major issues.

[Marcus Fritzsche] Yeah,
we can see any failure

that has occurred
during flight,

we can see that and check it.

[Narrator] Right now he's
chasing down a cooling
problem

the system has detected
in the cabin.

Below the wings,

Patrick Jung has discovered
a more serious issue--

one that could keep this jet
from ever leaving the ground.

[Patrick Jung] We have a
leakage on the hydraulic hose
up there.

[Thorston] Whenever there is
a leak, we have to look for it.

It needs attention right away.

[Narrator] The hoses
are the veins

of two separate
hydraulic systems

that move control surfaces
on the wings and tail.

Adjusting their position
allows the plane to climb,

descend and make turns.

Small pumps, titanium
couplings and Kevlar hoses

combine to make
the hydraulic systems

both lightweight and compact.

But they must stand up
to intense pressures

when called on
to maneuver the A380.

[Thorston] You cannot detect
a hydraulic leak

via the electronics.

You would have to place sensors
everywhere around the aircraft,

and that's impossible.

[Narrator] Luckily for
Patrick,

the hose is easy to reach and
the leak is an isolated
problem.

It's an unplanned repair,

but something the team can
accommodate in the shift.

An hour later, Marcus has
solved his cabin cooling
problem

by replacing a faulty switch

and has moved on
to a tire inspection.

[Marcus] You've got
so many tests you can do

where the computer
tells you right away

which part is defect
and what you have to change.

But in this case, the computer
cannot see the tire's worn

or there's a damage on the
tire.

[Narrator] The massive tires
are too valuable to throw
away.

This one will be resurfaced
as many as eight times

before it finally gets
sent for scrap.

[Narrator] Hours before the
A380 is to return to
service,

Patrick has installed
a new Kevlar hose.

But he can't send it
back to work

until he brings the system
up to full pressure

and checks for leaks.

[Patrick]
That was the final step,

because now we know that
the system pressure,

which is normally
on this tiny hose,

reaches it now,

and now the aircraft can
go back into service.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
reduce mach speed 2-4 sequence.

[Harald] Lufthansa 454...

[Narrator] Airborne for
almost 10 hours,

Juergen and his 495
passengers

are now approaching the
northern border of
California

and running ahead of
schedule.

Pilots new to the A380
must take a leap of faith

and learn to trust
the automation

that controls
most of the flight.

[Juergen] The technology
on this aircraft

is the latest, most
sophisticated one.

As a matter of fact, that's
the first paperless cockpit,

and the big difference,
compared to other aircraft,

not regarding for weight and
for size of the aircraft,

is the way how you communicate
with this aircraft.

[Narrator] Learning to
communicate with the A380

requires 70 hours of
rigorous pilot training

in a simulator

that needs to replicate
the real thing...

Flawlessly.

C.A.E. in Montreal, Canada,

built the very first
A380 simulator.

Their customers hand over
$20 million per sim,

expecting it to handle
exactly like a real jet

that costs almost 20 times
more.

[Eric Vernier] The first
scenario is going to be

a landing on an icy runway.

[Narrator] Engineer Eric
Vernier and pilot John
Moorhouse

are putting a new A380
simulator to the test

before it's delivered
to another airline.

[Automated voice]
50, 40, 30, 20, retard.

[Narrator] And every time
the system crashes...

[John Moorhouse] We're running
into something here.

-[Eric] Yes.
-[John] Yeah.

[Narrator] ...it's back to
the drawing board.

[Eric] Maybe the database
is not up to date.

[John] No.

[Eric] Should have some
correction to that.

[John] Yeah.

[Narrator] The A380 flight
deck features

over 1,500 pieces of software

and over a million
lines of code.

The thought that
the computers can freeze

or that the screens
could go blank

might make passengers
nervous.

But Eric's not concerned.

[Eric] If, let's say, we have
absolutely no screen available,

we still have all
the documentation available

through the,
what you call the NSS,

and there's two laptop
for backup.

[Narrator] The laptops allow
the pilots to reconnect

into the A380's
computer network,

as well as providing
all the technical assistance

they could ever need.

[Eric] All fire,
push button off.

[Narrator] After Eric's
made some adjustments,

John wants another crack at
landing on the icy runway...

[John] We're going to see how
long the landing roll is

with maximum auto brake
on a slippery runway.

[Narrator] This time
the scenario

plays out a little better.

[John] There's 40 knots,
and it is not good.

I'll put it on
full manual brakes.

Try some reverse.

Not bad, off the runway,
but on the overrun.

[Narrator] Once their tests
are completed,

they'll deliver the simulator
to a waiting customer

whose pilots can get
the experience they need

before flying with
real passengers.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
reset the transponders for
3263.

[Juergen] Ladies and gentlemen,
your captain once again,

and welcome to California.

[Narrator] Back on board
the historic flight

to San Francisco's,

the flight crew expects a
routine approach and landing.

[Denise] First container you're
going to load

that direction as usual.

[Narrator] But on the ground
in San Francisco's,

it's anything but routine.

[Alkan] 11 o'clock meet here.

[Man] 11 o'clock, ok.

[Narrator] In less than one
hour

Denise and her crew will be
unloading and reloading

San Francisco's first
revenue-generating A380
flight.

Balancing the tons of cargo,
luggage and passengers

is critical.

And it's up to Denise
to get it right.

[Denise] I think the difference
is going to be

with the load planning,

because it's a very
nose-heavy aircraft.

[Alkan] So, but then again...
Two, four, six, eight.

[Narrator] The ground crew
has two massive cargo holds

for a mix of luggage
containers and pallets.

The large one in the back
holds up to 35,000 pounds.

The front hold is
slightly smaller

and takes 26,000 pounds.

[Denise] Yes, we need 16 spots
for the containers.

Can we put three in the front
and two in the back,

does that work?

[Narrator] Lufthansa mechanic
Tshen Yue Cheung

has worked on A380s before,

but he's still concerned
about turning the plane
around

in such a short time.

[Tshen Yue Cheung] Normally,
it has only two hours-15

ground time in San Francisco's,

which is
a very tight schedule.

[Narrator] The crew on the
ground would like more time

with the plane,

but Juergen's doing
everything he can to delay
his arrival.

The welcome party
has been planned

around an on-time arrival,

and Juergen does not
want to disappoint.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
maintain final two-niner zero.

[Narrator] But their fate
rests

with busy
air traffic controllers

who have other priorities.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
maintain 280 knots.

Lufthansa 454,
I understand you need to delay

for landing at 1850.

[Juergen] The reason is that
a lot of media are waiting

for this A380
and if we are too early,

we spoil their day, you know?

[Narrator] He's hoping to
delay by flying a
sight-seeing route

over San Francisco's bay
and the golden gate bridge.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
make it right 360 for delay,

direct point Reyes.

[Narrator] But instead, they
are sent out over the
Pacific

to join other aircraft
lining up to land.

[Juergen] It's actually
not what we want.

[radio chatter]

[Controller] Maintain 5,000...
Niner-five.

[Narrator] Another attempt--

and this time they get
a better result.

[Controller]
Lufthansa 454, roger,

I'll just take you out
at the present heading

and then we'll get you
in there at 1850.

[Narrator] Juergen and Harald
prepare for landing.

Statistically speaking, it's
the riskiest phase of the
flight.

In minutes, the A380's
massive landing gear

will need to absorb
the crushing impact

of 370,000 pounds of
airplane.

At the Goodrich
manufacturing facility

outside Toronto, Canada,

engineers building the gear
shoulder a huge
responsibility.

They make landing gear
for everything

from small private jets
to Boeing 777s.

But nothing comes close to
the size and complexity of
the A380.

[Jamie Macaskill]
When you get into the A380,

it's just so much bigger.

So we had to come up with
unique ways of building it

and maintaining the quality
built into the product

at this level

because of the sheer
magnitude size of it.

[Narrator] In addition
to the nose gear,

the A380 needs
four undercarriages

to support the fuselage.

The body gear have six wheels

while the wing gear
feature four.

Together they spread out
the weight,

allowing the A380
to use any runways

already capable of
handling 747s.

Making the A380's
landing gear strong

is only half the equation.

To meet fuel efficiency
targets,

the gear needs to weigh
as little as possible.

[Nabeel Kamel]
There's always a tradeoff

between weight and cost.

Whenever you're trying
to reduce weight,

it always happens
to be more expensive.

So we've had to use
some more expensive

and more exotic materials
like titanium.

[Man] Just locking her in.

Okay, we're tight.

I'm good at this end.

Okay, I think we're good.

[Narrator] The original
raw steel

used for the main body gear
arrives weighing 13,000
pounds.

It's precision-sculpted down
to a slim 1,900 pounds

by the time it's ready
for assembly.

[Randy Corey] When we started
on the forging,

we were looking at
a wall thickness

that was nearly
five inches in thickness.

Now to the finished product,
we're down under an inch.

And the product is shaped

to minimize the weight
of the product

but maximize the strength.

[Narrator] The entire
assembly process takes seven
months.

Eventually the pieces are
tested to ensure they can
withstand

the constant cycle of
takeoffs and landings.

[Randy] It's designed on airbus
to go 12 years of service,

and we're trying to move to 14

to have a further life
after that time period.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
super nor cal approach.

[Narrator] Back in the air,

Juergen is minutes
from touchdown.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,

super contact San Francisco's
tower 120.5.

[Narrator] On the ground,
emergency vehicles are
rallied.

They'll offer
a traditional salute

to mark the arrival of
Lufthansa's first A380

to San Francisco's.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
super San Francisco's tower,

good afternoon, welcome!

Runway 28 right, clear to land.

Wind 29017.
Caution, wake turbulence.

Heavy 767 is short final.

[Juergen] Gear down.

[Harald] Gear down.

[Juergen] Flaps full.
[Harald] Flaps full.

[Narrator] In 2000, long
before the first A380 was
built,

San Francisco's christened
a new terminal

capable of accommodating
a super jumbo.

[Automated voice] 100.

[Narrator] Over a decade
later,

their first paying customer
is pulling in.

[Automated voice]
30, 20, retard, retard.

[Controller] Lufthansa 454,
super terrific,

looks like a nice speed,
just cut back.

Have a good day.

[Narrator] It's a moment
for celebration...

[Juergen] Off.

[Narrator] ...and a
once-in-a-lifetime photo op.

For Juergen and his crew,
the job is over.

But the clock is ticking
for Denise and her team.

They've got just over two
hours to unload and inspect
the plane,

then refuel, reload, and
send it back to Frankfurt.

[Denise] It's a challenge to
put all three jet bridges on.

We've never done this before.

So it may take them a while.

[Narrator] First day or not,

the passengers inside
expect to leave on time,

and it's up to Denise
to see they do.

Inside the terminal,

dignitaries and crew
are celebrating

the first A380 flight from
Frankfurt to San Francisco's.

The prospect of another
35,000 visitors a year

coming into the city
isn't lost

on board of supervisors
president David Chiu.

[David Chiu] This means
economic stimulus

of over 1,300 new direct
and indirect jobs a year,

over $100 million in new
business revenue to the city.

[Carsten] To San Francisco's!

Happy landings!

[applause]

[Narrator] Outside on the
ramp, it's all business.

[Man] Hold the ladder!

[Narrator]
While refueling begins,

Tshen Yue checks
the landing gear and tires.

[Tshen Yue] If the wheels
have some damages,

we have to fix it and change
the wheel before the next
flight.

[Denise] Yeah, 'cause the
engine's in the way, anyway,
so.

[Narrator] To reach
the A380's upper deck

requires a specially designed
catering truck.

It's the driver's first time

attempting to get the lift
into the right position.

But after a few attempts--
success.

And the loading begins.

Denise moves on to
the cargo holds.

[Denise] One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight
containers.

This position here is
going to be empty.

[Narrator] And Tshen Yue has
moved on to inspect the
flaps.

With just a few minutes
until boarding begins,

Denise has the end in sight.

[Denise] We're getting close
to the end,

we just have to finish
loading the containers

in the forward hold
and in the rear hold.

By then, they should have
all the passengers,

and we'll close it up and send
this baby back to Frankfurt.

[Magali Durand]
Jordan is a party of four.

[Narrator] In the terminal,
the celebration is over.

The crew at the gate is
putting everything they've
got

into loading 460 passengers

on the first A380 flight
to Frankfurt.

[Magali] Check in?

[Narrator] Magali Durand is
Lufthansa's check-in manager,

and some of her passengers
are in danger

of losing their place
in history.

[Magali] So right now,
I can see with the time,

we're missing 24, more or less.

[Narrator] Missing passengers
can mean a substantial delay

and send Denise's crew
scrambling.

[Denise] If a passenger
doesn't show up,

we have to pull
all the containers out,

pull the bag off,
and put it back on,

and then push the plane back
before departure time.

[Narrator] But finally all
are present and accounted
for--

and just in time--
the doors are closed.

[Magali] Woof. [laughs]

We're done!

[Narrator] Outside
it's a final boarding call

for the last to load.

Two small dogs heading
to Europe on holiday.

[dogs bark]

Denise delivers the final
numbers to the captain

so he can verify his weight
and balance calculations.

[Denise] Okay,
so load sheet number one,

you have an lnc of minus two
passengers in economy,

minus 200, plus four bags in
compartment five, plus 60.

You, too, see you next time.

Have fun flying home.

[Narrator] For the San
Francisco's ramp crew,

it's been a day of firsts.

But for the A380
to be successful,

the mad scramble to
unload and reload

will need to become
standard operating procedure

at airports worldwide.

[Alkan] It was good.

This is the biggest ever made.

And it's going to be challenge
all around, to be honest.

It's just the size of it.

It's going to be challenge
for everybody, every day.

It's just the way it is.

[Denise] Everyone gets excited
about having a new aircraft,

you know, especially, you know,
when it's big.

So, you know, we've got to
think a little more.

But nothing that
we can't handle.

[Controller] Lufthansa 469,
super runway three right

cleared for takeoff.

[Narrator] The A380 has
forever changed

how passenger aircraft are
built, flown and maintained.

Although only a fraction
of the 250 on order

are flying commercially,

its impact on the industry
has been dramatic.

[radio chatter]

[Heiner] The complete fly by
wire of the 380,

the complete electronical
control of the aircraft,

the complete monitoring of
all the functions by computers.

I think that is on the 380
absolutely on the highest level

compared to other aircraft
of the world.

[Narrator] As Lufthansa's
A380s conquer new
destinations,

it's a safe bet that
to compete for customers

other airlines will need to
either go big or go home.