Third A380 performs first flight

Airbus’ third A380, MSN 2, performed its first flight on 3rd November. The flight lasted three hours and took the aircraft over Southern France. During the flight, all systems were checked out and the whole flight envelope was cleared. The tests performed were similar to those of a serial production plane. The aircraft joins the first two A380s which, together, have already performed some 440 test flight hours in over 120 flights. These three development aircraft are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.