A group of SCAA board members joined other VIPs invited by officials of Los Angeles World Airports in March to see the historic first visit to LAX of the world’s largest passenger airliner, the new Airbus A380. Scheduled A380 passenger flights have not yet begun.

The new aircraft arrived from the Airbus final assembly plant in France for an overnight visit and demonstration of its ability to operate at LAX, where scheduled service is expected to begin next year. On the same day, another A380 from the flight test fleet visited JFK Airport in New York. The two aircraft were the first of their kind to land in the U.S.

Two gates at LAX’s Bradley Terminal have been remodeled to accommodate the A380, which airline officials say will carry around 550 passengers in a typical three-class cabin arrangement. If more than two of the super-jumbo jets should be on the ground at the same time, remote gates west of the Bradley Terminal will be used.

New and Old at LAX -- 70 years of air transport history were seen at LAX in March when the visiting Airbus A380 parked outside the Flight Path Learning Center next to a vintage Douglas DC-3. The A380, expected to begin serving LAX next year, typically will carry as many passengers as a fleet of more than two dozen 1930s-era DC-3s.

Tanked Up -- On board the visiting A380, SCAA member and former Hughes Award recipient Sam Iacobellis checks out the specially-equipped upper deck. Located where passengers seats will later be installed are rows of water tanks used during flight tests to change the aircraft’s payload and center of gravity. (Photo by Nissen Davis)