A380 GSE comes of age
Posted Date: 27/06/2009
Issue: Airside International July 2009
Publication: Airside International
The gestation period is over and the A380 has entered into service – albeit only on a limited number of routes at present. The aircraft design may well have reached maturity but its operation depends upon the GSE that supports it. It is just as well, therefore, that Airbus and GSE manufacturers alike have put significant effort and expertise into A380 GSE over the last 15 years. Jo Murray finds out more from those who have sought to assist with A380 ground operations
The gestation period is over and the A380 has entered into service – albeit only on a limited number of routes at present. The aircraft design may well have reached maturity but its operation depends upon the GSE that supports it. It is just as well, therefore, that Airbus and GSE manufacturers alike have put significant effort and expertise into A380 GSE over the last 15 years. Jo Murray finds out more from those who have sought to assist with A380 ground operations
GSE manufacturers have played a prominent role in ensuring that the GSE tools are available in the market as deliveries of this aviation giant trickle through. A380 fleets may be growing at a very slow rate, but regardless of the number of units in operation at present, equipment to ensure the serviceability of these large aircraft has been vital to bringing the aircraft to market. After all, it will not take long for the A380 to be a much more common sight at the world’s hub airports.
Since 1994 a dedicated A380 ground operation team at Airbus has been responsible at aircraft design level to ensure that the aircraft’s credentials allow easy integration at airports; safe and reliable ground handling; and environmental compatibility with present and future regulations. This has meant early liaison with airports, airlines, ground handlers, GSE manufacturers and regulatory bodies.
More than 200 airline meetings have taken place since design start and there have been at least two customer focus groups per year dedicated to A380 airport compatibility. There have also been more than 20 airline/airport/Airbus meetings per year at A380 target airports. Vitally, there was an extensive ground operation survey with more than 20 747 operators in 1997 to determine airline ground handling requirements for the A380.
Of course Airbus has marketed the A380 on the basis that it requires a similar equipment count to the 747-400 which translates into less congestion on the ramp, a similar turnaround time with more passengers boarded. Happily the A380 requires mostly conventional servicing to the main and lower deck using existing vehicles but there is an upper deck door used for catering. This is important because, for long haul flights with a high level of service, catering operations are the most time consuming. The upshot is that the new larger aircraft requires two new vehicles: a new tow tractor which has been developed by the likes of Douglas, Goldhofer, SCHOPF, Bliss Fox and JBT AeroTech; and an upper deck catering vehicle for which there is also a plethora of suppliers.
SOVAM in France is a case in point. With the A380 about to arrive at Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport, SOVAM undertook tests at the end of last year to make sure that its ground support equipment is well adapted to the handling of A380. Air France, together with its handlers, conducted successful night tests that proved all elements of the equipment SOVAM has developed to accommodate the A380 provides a seamless service. By the end of the Summer of 2009, both Singapore Airlines and Air France will be operating the A380 to Paris – hence the urgency of A380 GSE testing.
The trial involved SOVAM ‘s new A380 catering truck CT50H, toilet truck VT920 and potable water truck EP920, PRM Ambulift HELP and freight transporter with side loading TR127. Commenting on the catering truck, Axel Villette, Head of European Sales at SOVAM, says: “This is a totally new product that provides the added height of 8.10m to reach the upper deck door of the A380. There is also new technology used in the stabilisers to increase stability during high wind conditions of around 80km.”
The scissor lift on the SOVAM product is also new and the rotation of the van body is an additional new feature. “When you deliver catering to the A380 on the right side, you need to avoid the wing and the engine. Therefore you must first turn to the right position, then you elevate the van and then you turn to the left position to reach the door, which is just above the right wing of the aircraft,” comments Villette. “This is a hi-tech product which is now in operation with our customer, Servair, on classical flights.”
By classical flights Villette is referring to other widebody operations such as the 747, 777, A340 and A330 for which this equipment is also perfectly apt. Todate, contracts for six SOVAM A380 catering trucks have been signed and three have been delivered. “So far we have marketed this product successfully with Servair but we have tendered to other customers in Europe and Asia,” he adds.
The SOVAM catering equipment is loaded on a 26 tonne truck. It is the same gross weight as a truck that would be used for standard height catering delivery equipment of up to 6m. All aspects of the A380 GSE have been developed in concert with Airbus over the last four or five years. “There have been several sessions at Toulouse on the A380 mock-up,” remarks Villette. “We were invited to collect all the necessary information on the mock-up and then, when our prototype was ready, to drive it down to Toulouse to make sure it worked well with the mock-up before trying it in real operation.”
For Villette, the real challenge has been to manoeuvre the catering van around the body of the aircraft to the loading door which is just above the right wing. “We have to be very careful as we approach the aircraft,” he says. “We have proximity detectors as well as infra red sensors plus cameras to make sure from the driver’s cabin that you have good visibility from the front as well as from the rear.”
When asked whether there were any surprises for SOVAM when it was presented with a real A380 rather than just a mock-up, Villette, comments: “We worked continuously with both Airbus and Servair. The only things we added were additional side protection to avoid any risk of falling objects.”
Of course SOVAM is far from alone in entering the A380 catering truck market. Two years ago Alpha Flight Services took delivery of the first Byron Aviation designed and built A380-capable catering vehicle. As the launch customer for the vehicles, Alpha worked closely with Byron Aviation on the development of the truck and will receive the first 21 to be built.
The vehicle has been designed to service the doorway above the wing. To overcome access issues, the platform fans out from an initial width of 2500mm to 3500mm, with a maximum gate height of 1950mm. Pneumatic control services are used over the wing so there is no risk of oil spill onto the wing. The trucks have successfully completed trials on the A380 aircraft at Alpha’s Sydney facility and have met the exacting Australian standards.
Mallaghan, a UK based manufacturer of innovative GSE products for global markets, has successfully launched its range of A380 GSE, including the A380 catering and cabin cleaning truck and medical lift. To date, Mallaghan has sold over 10 units to customers such as OCS Transport Services Ltd, ASIG and MITIE Transport Services.
“During the initial anticipated launch of the A380 into commercial service, the sheer unprecedented size and scale of this aircraft had a direct impact on the feasibility of conventional aircraft ground support equipment to provide safe and efficient aircraft servicing,” comments a Mallaghan spokesperson. “With over 40 A380 aircraft anticipated to be in service worldwide by 2010, Mallaghan has and continues to invest extensively in designing and developing a range of high class products to meet the needs of the industry.”
In October 2007 the Mallaghan A380 cabin cleaning truck was launched at the 16th International Exhibition Airport Equipment, Technology and Services in Munich. In partnership with OCS Transport Services Ltd, the truck, which is capable of servicing the increased height of the upper deck of the A380, was then placed into service at London Heathrow and was present for the first arrival of the A380 in March 2008.
The Mallaghan A380 equipment range is capable of servicing door sill heights ranging from 3000mm to 8400mm and has been specifically designed to service the upper deck of the A380. Its scissor mechanism has an elevation range of up to 8.4m and has a van body size to suit.
At Tesco, its A380 widebody hi-lift has a payload capacity of 10,000lb (4,545kg) and is based on a single scissor lift system. Width gives the scissors greater stability. It has an auto-traversing body which is 3ft from the aircraft. The equipment also features a four-way movable porch and front platform. Wing sensors are provided to ensure optimum proximity. Forward platform configurations include full width, two-way moving and four-way moving platforms.
Many of these catering truck manufacturers have long track records and have been in the market for years. DOLL Fahrzeugbau began building catering trucks back in 1987. The lifting systems can be used to load all aircraft with transfer levels of between 1.2m and 8.4m. When the A380 landed for its first airport compatibility tests at Frankfurt am Main, the new aircraft’s complete ground handling programme was tested at terminal 2. Not only were passenger flows tested, but so was everything else necessary for fast handling.
This occasion was also the first test for the DOLL A380 catering vehicle. According to Airbus guidelines, equipment docking must only be attempted once. Therefore, it was extremely important for the DOLL team that, during the demonstration, everything fitted exactly to the minute and the millimetre. The DOLL equipment passed this challenge with flying colours.
Another A380 catering truck is offered by AeroMobile. AeroMobiles ‘s A380 Catering Hilift has a platform minimum height of 2,750mm and maximum height of 8,150 mm with a payload of 5 tons. It is built from 100mm reinforced composite insulated panels.
The bringing to market of so much competitive A380 GSE equipment is largely attributable to Airbus’ efforts at communication with the market. Airbus even went so far as to design a 3D ground handling simulation tool which was used to assess and validate A380 ground operations.The airframe manufacturer also set up a collaboration agreement to exchange 3D models of A380 compatible GSE with major GSE manufacturers.
The upshot of all these communications was that, prior to the A380’s entry into service, eight ground tests were performed at large hub airports, five catering vehicle prototypes were successfully tested on the A380 and five tests of upper deck bridges were performed. In many ways, Airbus has set new industry standards in the community approach to bringing a new aircraft to market. The next stage is the development of the fleet and the use of this plethora of equipment at all the airports that can service this beast of an aircraft.
A380 tugs: examples of market presence
Douglas
The Douglas-Kalmar TBL-600 Tugmaster has been designed primarily for pushback, inter-gate towing and longer distance maintenance towing operations at higher speed. The TBL-600 is suitable for pushback, inter-gate and longer distance maintenance towing operations at higher speeds with numerous aircraft, including the A380.
The Douglas Tugmaster DC12-600 is a conventional aircraft towing tractor for pushback, inter-gate and maintenance towing operations with all wide bodied aircraft up to and including fully laden A380. The Douglas Tugmaster DC12-600 is offered ballasted to 50, 55, 60 or 70 tonnes all up weight for handling aircraft up to a maximum ramp weight of 600 tonnes
Goldhofer
The towbarless aircraft tractors of the AST 1 X (6x6) series have been developed for fast and flexible ground handling of aircraft up to 600 tons MTOW (including the A380). This vehicle has a driving power of up to 1,000kW provided by two diesel engines with power of up to 500kW each and hydrostatic traction. These tractors can be employed for different operations like pushback, inter-gate- and maintenance towing.
SCHOPF
The SCHOPF F396 C is a conventional, four-wheel drive and four-wheel steer tractor for all wide-body aircraft presently in service. Equipped with fully automatic transmission, SCHOPF´s heaviest tractor – the 396 – is capable of handling all aircraft for pushback and long distance towing.
Bliss Fox
The Bliss-Fox F1-500 tractor is in the 70 tonne class of tow vehicle, capable of providing in excess of 495Kn of draw bar pull. Standard configuration is 4WS - 4WD (front wheel steer - four wheel drive with crab steer). The tractor has a standard fixed height cabin at centre drive position and there are left or right hand drive position alternatives.
JBT AeroTech
The Expediter 600 is a towbarless tractor designed for pushback and maintenance tow. It is capable of handling a wide range of wide body aircraft from the A310 and B767 to the B747 and A380. The Expediter 600 has a stable design to prevent jack-knifing, automated aircraft selection and pickup to reduce the potential of operator error, PLC diagnostics to help identify maintenance issues quickly and a robust design for a 15 year or 30,000 hour life.
The Little Big Tug Company (LBTC)
LBTC was formed in 2000 to design and build a heavy aircraft towing and pushback tractor for the global rental market. LBTC set out to build one of the cleanest, quietest and strongest tractors in its class and finally brought the T80 aircraft towing/pushback tractor to the rental market. All LBTC’s equipment is certified by British Airports Authority and has a 20 year operating life. LBTC has available A380 compatible tugs; and units can be tailored to suit aircraft configuration and airfield operations.
