The supply chain of the A380 will come into operation as early as this week

The supply chain of the A380 will come into operation as early as this week. Except last minute hitches, the first elements of the future very large carrier European are expected in Pauillac (Gironde) from Sunday. Segments, from Saint-Nazaire and Hamburg factories, should be transported in the following days by the river route to the small town of Langon, starting point of the land route to great template built specially for the giant of the air. April 5 is expected to undermine the first road convoy to carry these items in Toulouse. The girondin shipowner Socatra, providing river transport part, took possession in recent weeks two equipment keys: a huge module transfer, big as a football field and built in the Polish shipyards of Gdansk, will be used to receive the items, which have previously embedded in Hamburg, Saint-Nazaire, Mostyn or Cadiz. They pass on this giant pontoon before being loaded on the barge to the port of Langon.

The first of these two vessels, built in the shipyards of Hoop in Rotterdam, is designed to provide four travel the transfer of the larger elements of an A380, three sections of fuselage and wing and the rear tail. Normally a little more than twenty hours required the vessel to link Pauillac to Langon, where a huge lock was built in order to ensure that, whatever the level of the River, the unloading of the cargo and transfer to road convoys.

The barges have been adapted to the problem of the crossing of the old Bordeaux stone bridge, which is the main obstacle of this river route. The crossing will be in the State of low sea and provided that the Garonne flow does not exceed the threshold of 2,000 m3/second. However, the construction of the protective equipment of the arches of the old bridge, the Port of Bordeaux is the master of work, took many unsuccessful tenders being delayed. The work, the amount (EUR 7.6 million) will be financed by the State, will probably not completed before the month of July.

A convoy per month

On the part of the route are located on 240 kilometres of roads between Langon and plant assemblage, Blagnac, it remains to install 120 variable message signs and achieve three intersections. The delays have been held in record time since the Declaration of public utility of June 2002. This extensive site cost 171 million euros, funded at 57 by Airbus and 43 by the State, in addition to 34 million for the inland part. For the most part, it was to develop the national and departmental roads but it took also construct a dozen of deviations from towns, repeat 10 crossings of villages and achieve 15 kilometres of trails closed to traffic. Five parking areas monitored by cameras were installed as the convoys will be three nights to arrive, at a speed of 5 to 30 km/hour. They only circulate between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and mobilize 60 people, including 29 employees of the carrier Capelle and 26 policemen!

The convoys are six special semi-trailers equipped with GPS systems. These huge trucks measure up to 53 metres long (wings), 8 m wide (for the fuselage) and 14 m high, and the heaviest weighs 235 tonnes. He spent the first years a convoy per month and then a week in 2008 when the plant will rise in rate.