AIRBUS A380 prototype MSN001, is to fly from Toulouse to Frankfurt for airport compatibility verification tests at the end of this month and then visit Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during the first half of November, finishing up at the Dubai air show which starts on Monday 21 November. The visits, which mark the first time that the Airbus A380 will be seen outside Europe, will give customers a chance to see the aircraft at first hand, and airports an early opportunity to check their preparedness to handle it in commercial service. The tests at Frankfurt will include taxiing around the airport, docking at a terminal and checking passenger boarding bridge positioning. They will also demonstrate ease of access for servicing vehicles, such as catering trucks, cargo-loaders, fuel bowsers and water servicing ” both individually and together, as they would be positioned during an aircraft turnaround. MSN001 is presently a pure engineering aircraft, its cabin fitted with extensive flight-test instrumentation, measuring equipment and ballast tanks that can be filled with water to simulate the weight of a full load of passengers and cargo.
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