I guess every generation since 1903 has been astounded at the size of aircraft, wondering how the laws of physics can possibly allow something so large and heavy to get off the ground. I remember as a boy in the 1970s staring in awe at a Boeing 747 at the San Francisco airport.
Well, 747s are certainly no big deal anymore and these days are used more for cargo than passengers. Now we have even larger aircraft, carrying more people greater distances, and forcing any rational person to wonder, yet again, how something this size could ever fly.
I got a chance to see one of the new Airbus A-380s up close and personal at the Frankfurt airport recently. If your jaw doesn't drop when to see one of these behemoths, I think you're just bored with life. So now the obvious questions about comparisons with 747s. The 380 is only about 7 feet longer than a 747 and about 16 feet taller. But the width is hard to believe: the Airbus's wingspan is a full 50 feet longer than the Boeing! The new double-decker can carry well over 500 passengers, while the older 747, "only" about 340. One can only wonder how long it takes to get your luggage after landing, you and the other 500 tired fliers...
One final stat: the maximum take-off weight of the A-380 is 1.2 million pounds. What hath the Wright Brothers wrought!
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