A380

I live in a place that a lot of big airplanes fly over just after taking off from San Francisco International Airport. While I'm by no means perfect at it, I can often tell you what kind of jet is overhead, and even where it's going. There's a lot of people like me.

But there's also people who don't know anything about planes, and who can't tell the difference between very distinct behemoths like Boeing's 747 and Airbus' A380, let alone jets that on quick inspection look very similar, like Boeing's 737 … Read more

The world's largest passenger plane may not be sky-worthy, some aircraft engineers in Australia are saying.

The BBC reports that the engineers are concerned about small cracks that have appeared on the wing ribs of some Airbus A380 airplanes, and that they're calling for the whole fleet to be grounded for investigation.

The cracks were found on A380s operated by Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways, the BBC reports, and Singapore Airlines says it has repaired the wings of two of its A380s.

Airbus recommends that airlines check for cracks but says they present no real danger. The BBC … Read more

Here at Geek Gestalt, every day is different. The world of geek culture is broad--sometimes bewilderingly so. A typical year's coverage can easily include stories on everything from Burning Man to Lego, aviation to 3D printing, NASA to tech startups, MythBusters to Pixar movies, and so on.

That makes coming up with predictions for next year in culture a difficult task--but we're here to serve, so that's just we're offering. Of course, trying to settle on just five ideas for 2012 means leaving a lot of things out.

Still, prognosticating culture's next steps meant talking … Read more

LEVIGNAC, France--I'm looking up toward the sky at two things you wouldn't expect to be right next to each other. One is the "boulangerie" sign outside the bakery in this tiny French village. The other is the "Airbus A380" logo emblazoned on the protective cover on one end of a segment of giant airplane fuselage.

Why would two such things be next to each other? Because late Friday night, a truck convoy carrying all the major components of the next A380 that Airbus will build--the world's largest passenger plane, a full double-decker … Read more

BLAGNAC, France--What would you do with nearly 6,000 square feet of private airplane?

That's the question I'm asking myself as I look up at what will soon be one of the largest private planes in the world--an Airbus A380 slated for an unknown buyer. Two full decks of luxury in the sky, right in front of me, and sadly, I won't get to see what it looks like.

But I do get to see how A380s are made. As part of Road Trip 2011, I've come here to Airbus' Jean-Luc Lagardere plant, just outside Toulouse, … Read more

PARIS--As he neared the end of the nearly 10-hour flight from Everett, Wash., to the French capital and the Paris Air Show here, Boeing chief pilot Mark Feuerstein got some unexpected gratification.

"It was a real quiet flight over," Feuerstein said of the trip that began just an hour north of Seattle, where Boeing builds many of its biggest passenger planes. "But as we approached Paris, it became a big deal. People knew who we were, on the radio. It was exciting. A lot of the pilots in the area saw us and were commenting, asking, 'Is … Read more

Update (Tuesday, 1:12 p.m. PDT): Lufthansa's A380 has landed at San Francisco International Airport, making the airline the first to offer regular service of the world's-largest passenger plane to SFO. But Air France is said to be ready to begin its own A380 service here on June 8.

Though I mostly write about cell phones at CNET, you may have noticed that I'm rather passionate--some would say obsessed--over commercial aviation. I was lucky enough to attend the first flights of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-8, so I jumped at the chance to witness … Read more

EVERETT, Wash.--Sporting an all-new corporate color scheme--red and orange and white instead of the company's traditional blue and white--Boeing unveiled its next-generation 747-8 Intercontinental here today.

With the formal unveiling, the aviation giant made it clear that its 787 Dreamliner is hardly its only card in the global commercial aviation poker game.

Billed as the most fuel-efficient and cheapest airliner to operate in the world, the new plane seems poised to join its predecessors in the 747 line as an iconic representation of what air travel can and should be.

And while preorders of the 747-8 Intercontinental are … Read more

CHANGI AIRPORT, SINGAPORE--If you don't think airplanes can have paparazzi, consider the following scene.

I was here last month, having flown in from San Francisco the night before, only to wait about 18 hours for my flight to Calcutta, India. Carrying my camera around in search of things to photograph at what I had been told was one of the world's most-interesting airports, I spotted my most-desired prey: An Airbus A380.

But a clear view of the plane was blocked by some walls, as well as a locked gate lounge, and I couldn't figure out how best … Read more