To save weight on the A380 superjumbo aircraft, resourceful
software helped design an innovative decentralized hydraulic
system with lightweight micropumps delivering power locally to
emergency braking and landing gear steering systems. Edited by
Alan L. Hitchcox, editor With an overall length of 73 m and a
wing span of nearly 80 m, the Airbus A380 provides seating for
525 passengers and a range of 15,200 km (nearly 10,000 miles) —
sufficient to fly nonstop from New York to Hong Kong. To gain
maximum fuel efficiency and payload capacity, weight savings was
a must when developing this massive plane. Composite and other
lightweight materials account for more than 25% of its
structure, and engineers scrutinized every aspect of the
aircraft to further trim it down. Of particular interest were
hydraulic lines running the length of the aircraft from large
centralized pumps to actuators for brakes, landing gear, and the
nose wheel steering system. Ordinarily, large commercial jets
have three sets of redundant hydrau