The Airbus A380: A History

Graham M. Simons

Aug. 2014 · Pen and Sword

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The Airbus A380 is a commemorative volume preserving the history of this iconic craft in words and images from aviation writer and historian Graham Simons.

Every seven minutes, an A380 takes off or lands somewhere in the world.

The Airbus was initially designed and developed in order to provide a contender to the Boeing’s growing monopoly of the skies in the biggest large-aircraft market in the world. Ambitious in design, the undertaking seemed mammoth. Yet scores of aviation engineers and pilots worked to get the design off the ground and the Airbus in our skies. This double-decker, wide-body, 4 engine jet airliner promised to redefine expectations when it came to commercial flight.

In The Airbus A380, Graham Simons provides an impressively illustrated narrative history of the craft, its achievements, and the legacy it looks set to provide to a new generation of aviation engineers, enthusiasts and passengers. Operated by airlines such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Quantas, and Lufthansa, the story of the A380 could be said to represent the story of modern-day travel itself, characterized by major technological advances across the world that constantly push the boundaries of expectation.

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English professional aviation writer, publisher and historian Graham M Simons is one of the founders of the world famous aviation museum at Duxford near Cambridge where his interest was piqued watching the making of the ‘Battle of Britain film there in the late 1960s and from the days when you could go ‘aircraft spotting at London Heathrow and other airports.

From this, and with an engineering background, he progressed to membership of a number of aviation societies, including sitting on the British Aviation Preservation Council, eventually taking the position of Engineering Director with one group. Here he was responsible for overseeing the restoration of a De Havilland DH89 Dragon Rapide airliner to flying condition and placing this aircraft - with official approval — in the colours and markings of the first aircraft of what was then the Kings Flight. It was during this period that he was contacted by Ian Allen Ltd to write the first ever history of this classic De Havilland type.

Other titles rapidly followed and with a growing number of contacts in both the military and airliners, Graham turned professional in 1987, combining his love of writing with his skills in production to create and publish aviation histories focussed on a variety of subjects.

He is the author of Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose, Comet! The Worlds First Jet Airliner, The Airbus A380: A History, and De Havilland Enterprises: A History, amongst many others published by Pen & Sword Books.