All language subtitles for rise_of_the_machines_s01e09_superjumbo_jet

Soaring through the skies at more than
950 kilometers per hour.

This is the best moment because the
engines are pushing.

A new breed of airliner.

The door is so big you can literally fit
a car in there sideways.

Isn't this machine impressive?

Made for more than 4 million components
and carrying over 500 passengers on the

longest routes around the planet.

The A380 Super Jumbo is the most
powerful aircraft of its kind.

With unprecedented access to its
operations on the ground... And

in flight...

We'll blow this $400 million monster
apart.

To uncover its technological secrets.

From a double -decker airframe made from
advanced composites to

40 -meter -long wings that give it
incredible lift.

We'll reveal how this extraordinary
super jumbo evolved

to rise above all other machines.

Welcome to Los Angeles International
Airport.

Also known as LAX, it's one of the
busiest airport hubs in the world.

Every year, more than 70 million people
travel from here to 150 destinations

across the globe.

Worldwide air traffic is at an all -time
high and is increasing by 15 % every

year.

Airports are fast running out of takeoff
and landing slots, and the skies are

getting crammed.

This machine is designed

to change all that.

Built to fly 80 ,000 kilometers per
week, along the world's longest routes,

carries 100 more people than a 747.

It is the A380 Super Jumbo, the biggest
passenger jet the world has ever

seen. It's tremendous to me to see
something this size flying in the air,

actually. The North American and
European flight market is one of the

competitive in the world, worth over $40
billion a year.

Airline operator Air France has bought a
nine -strong fleet of A380 Super Jumbos

to gain a bigger slice of this market.

Each A380 costs $400 million and is an
extraordinary engineering

wonder.

She has two decks, one stacked on top of
the other, that hold more than 500

people and 60 metric tons of cargo.

She has four engines, which generate the
thrust of seven F -18 fighter jets.

And her 40 -meter wings create 560
metric tons of lifting force

to thrust the biggest passenger plane on
Earth into the sky.

This Air France A380 has just landed at
LAX.

You do the back loader.

Drive, drive, drive.

David Mitchell runs ground operations,
leading a team of seven working

beneath the massive jet.

I'm in charge of the loading and
operation of the aircraft from the water

cargo to all the passengers' bags.

David's team has only two and a half
hours to turn the Super Jumbo around and

set it back on its way as flight 065 to
Paris.

Captain Claude Godel will be at the helm
of this flight.

An experienced A380 pilot, Claude has
logged over a million kilometers in the

A380 Super Jumbo.

Today, he and his crew of 23 leave their
hotel for LAX.

The captain.

has a huge responsibility, but he can
rely on a first officer and the cabin

to help the captain to take the right
decision and cope with this huge

responsibility.

A good pilot is the one who has the same
number of landings as they can.

Claude's mission, to fly from Los
Angeles International, 9 ,000 kilometers

across the USA and the Atlantic Ocean.

to his final destination, one of
Europe's busiest airports,

Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Today, Claude's plane is running late
because it arrived into LAX one hour

behind schedule.

Today we will have more than 500
passengers on board, but 330 will have a

connection in Paris. So if we arrive
late, they will have a problem.

They may miss their connection.

Missed connections cost the U .S. air
industry over $8 billion a year in

alternative flights and overnight
hotels.

It's critical Claude's super jumbo
arrives in Paris on time.

Two hours to take off.

Air France, head to Paris.

50 ,000 employees work at LAX, helping
to process passengers through the

terminal. Air France, that flight to
Paris today is pretty full.

It's an A380, carries over 500 people.

So between now and the next hour and a
half, I'll probably lift maybe three

of luggage.

The Super Jumbo's late arrival into LAX
could mean a travel nightmare for those

catching a connecting flight.

The flight is like a 40 -minute delay,
so I'm going to check their connection,

okay? Okay, very good.

Yeah, it's a tight one.

In the airline briefing room, Claude and
his co -pilots review their flight

plan.

Today's journey will be far from
routine.

Flying conditions over the Atlantic look
ominous.

Claude is pinning his hopes on a 370
-kilometer -an -hour tailwind to help

make up some of the delay.

But it could be bumpy.

Too late in Paris.

Okay, now it's time to go. We have to go
now.

One, two, front loader.

The ground crew has to pump in 165 ,000
liters of fuel and load up to 1

,000 pieces of luggage, working against
the clock.

We've got about 41 minutes left.

Time is always crucial.

The planes don't make money on the
ground.

They only make money in the air.

Everything about this aircraft is
supersized.

The door is so big you can literally fit
a car in there sideways.

Loading cargo on board this monster jet
is a big job as the hold stretches half

the length of its body.

We're in the front hold of the aircraft.
The nose of the aircraft will be over

there. We're pretty much in the belly of
the beast.

They load luggage into 38 steel
containers.

Each is the size and weight of a small
car.

They make everything really easy on this
aircraft.

Yeah, it just easily goes in.

Intelligent runners in the floor help
shuttle the cargo around the hole.

The passengers, cargo, and fuel make up
more than half of the aircraft's 560

metric ton weight at takeoff.

Remarkably, This super jumbo can carry
six metric tons more than its own body

weight.

That's thanks to its extraordinary
lightweight construction.

The shell of this titan is built like a
featherweight.

Only 49 ribs span the 73 -meter -long
fuselage.

Surrounded by skin that is thinner than
cardboard.

But it's designed to be incredibly
strong.

by borrowing technology inspired by an
ancient warrior, Alexander the Great,

had a secret weapon.

Tunics made from layers of linen and
glue.

The linen and glue combined to form an
extremely tough armor that

made Alexander's army nearly
unstoppable.

The A380 has upgraded this body armor.

Instead of linen, there's a glass fiber
mesh stronger than steel.

Sandwiched between ultra -thin aluminum,
making up its super -light skin to save

800 kilograms in weight.

But it's strong enough to support 90
metric tons of wings and engines and can

handle almost anything nature can throw
at it.

40 minutes to take off.

Isn't this machine impressive?

I'm always astonished because it's
important for us to see it from here

once we are in the cockpit, we don't
remember the size of the plane that we

behind us.

We actually got two more bags getting
ready to come.

We need to get a jump on it. You got a
runner?

Yeah, they're right here.

You want to go up there and kind of help
them out because we're running out of

time here.

We've got 18 minutes left.

The final 21 bags belonging to the crew
make it into the hold.

This is it right here.

So we're going to close it up unless we
get a last -minute dog something.

Oh, look, yeah, we have a dog.

Whoa, it's a big dog.

The Super Jumbo's rear cargo hold has
automated climate control, which should

keep this pooch flying comfortably.

Hey, Knox, after this, close it up.

By working fast, the ground crew has
reduced the 40 -minute delay.

As far as the delay, I think we caught
up about maybe 11 minutes.

Next challenge.

Weave a path to the runway.

A risky maneuver with a jet this big in
an airport where one plane leaves every

55 seconds.

I'm ensuring the clear path to the
runway.

At Los Angeles International Airport,

the A380 Super Jumbo is ready to begin
its 9 ,000 -kilometer journey to Paris.

Get ready for pushback. We got about 10
minutes left.

The flight is running 30 minutes late.

Two -thirds of the passengers on board
have to make connections in Paris.

Loading over 500 passengers onto the
Super Jumbo speedily requires a custom

-built double -decker loading system.

It's designed to shuttle one passenger
on board every five seconds.

From economy, where tickets cost $900,
to first class.

where one seat costs $8 ,000.

The race is on to board all passengers
in 40 minutes.

In the

cockpit, Captain Claude completes pre
-flight checks.

So here you are in what is called the
blue cockpit, an Airbus cockpit.

It's our office. It's the best place.

The A380's advanced fly -by -wire
technology sends signals from the six

computers to the aircraft's vital
components at lightning speed.

Okay, I release the brake. If everything
is clear on the plane, we may start

push.

Yes, I will call you back, but the
aircraft is clear.

So we're going to push back south now.

David Mitchell is driving the only
tractor at LAX with enough power to

metric tons of super jumbo.

Okay, so now we're going to disconnect
the tow bar.

Parking brake is set. You may disconnect
the tow bar.

The world's biggest passenger aircraft
is about to be switched on.

The four colossal engines will soon
blast air backwards at 1 ,300 kilometers

hour, creating gusts powerful enough to
knock over a truck.

The mechanic is going to start the
engines pretty soon here, so it's going

get a little loud.

David's team must retreat to a safe
distance before Claude awakes this

Each engine weighs seven metric tons.
All four cost

$70 million.

That's a sixth of the cost of the entire
plane.

The next few minutes are critical.

This aircraft is full of highly
flammable aviation fuel, so Claude must

care steering the Super Jumbo down the
taxiways.

Taxiing is probably the most critical
phase with the A380. We have to be very,

very careful due to the fact that he has
a span of 80 meters.

The huge wings of the A380 skim the very
edge of LAX's taxiways,

so Claude can't reach the runway without
help.

Air France 65 Super at Delta, give way,
Aeromexico, Boeing 737.

Wing Marshal Benjamin Chai rides to the
rescue.

Move back a little bit further.

LA ground in position with Air France 65
Super.

I'm ensuring the aircraft has a clear
path to the runway, basically guarding

wing tip.

With hundreds of service vehicles and
over 1 ,700 flights every day, LAX's

taxiways are some of the busiest in the
world.

It's a tense tow to the final turn.

On to LAX's north runway for takeoff.

In the next seconds, Captain Claude will
have the full power of the biggest

passenger aircraft in the world in his
control.

Under the hood of the engines, 24 high
-precision fan blades,

Slight through the air.

Their tips moving faster than the speed
of sound.

The blades are made from light, but
strong titanium.

The edge of the blades are sculpted like
an ancient Japanese weapon of war.

The samurai sword.

Early samurai swords had straight
blades.

They were sharp, but lacked punch.

Redesigning the blade to be curved
focused the strike force on a single

So the sword could slice through almost
anything.

The A380 takes this idea to the extreme.

The jet fan's curved titanium blades
carve through 1 .2 metric tons of air

second.

Their edges run less than a millimeter
from the housing.

Together, they generate the power of
more than 1 ,800 cars, pushing

560 metric tons of A380 on its way.

Claude releases the brakes and pushes
the throttle.

The Super

Jumbo accelerates from a standing start
to 300 kilometers per hour in just 50

seconds.

This is known as the point of no return.
The aircraft is committed to takeoff.

There is now not enough runway to stop.

This is when the engines work the
hardest.

Every second, a liter of fuel explodes
in a combustion chamber.

This scorching hot air slams into
turbines at the back.

spinning them around at 10 ,000 RPM.

The turbines connect to the giant fan
blades at the front that push air

into the heart of the engines, giving
the A380 the power of seven

F -18 fighter jets.

With all its engines at full throttle,
Air France Flight 065 must lift off.

One in ten fatal accidents occur on
takeoff.

The next five seconds are make or break
for everybody on board.

At Los Angeles International Airport,
the A380 Super Jumbo, the world's

passenger jet, is hurtling down the
runway en route to Paris.

The engines are at full throttle,
pushing the Super Jumbo to a speed of

kilometers per hour.

But to lift this 560 metric ton bird off
the runway, the A380

must pull off an amazing shape -shifting
trick.

The key to liftoff is hidden inside its
wings.

They're crammed with hydraulic pipes and
cylinders.

so the A380 can soar like the king of
the skies, the American bald

eagle. It's a master of slow flying.

It angles its wings to create more lift
and spreads out two feathery fingers

to speed up the airflow, keeping six
kilograms of bird afloat with ease.

The A380 takes this idea to the extreme.

At takeoff, hydraulic rams kick in.

They push out the front and back of the
wings, extending the surface area by

20%. This creates 28 metric tons of
extra lift, boosting the

jet off the runway.

Flaps locked in place, the Super Jumbo
takes to the skies, giving Wing Marshal

Ben a moment to enjoy the view.

It's amazing to see how this big
aircraft takes off and seeing those

up like that. It's amazing.

I love this job.

But Ben's job is not over yet.

Working with air traffic control,

he must inspect the runway after every
A380 takes off.

Violent air currents stirred up by this
monster jet can leave a trail of debris.

that could be sucked in by the next
aircraft in the queue.

I'm ensuring that the Airbus 380 with
its jet blast hasn't knocked over any

lines, there isn't any damage to the
runway.

Ben has less than five minutes to carry
out the check and confirm the runway is

safe for the next plane to take off.

LA Tower, City Office 142, clear of
runway 24L at Echo 17.

Thanks for your help.

and that's it so we could resume normal
operations job well done runway two

four left for takeoff

departure

good evening this is air france 65 super
passing one thousand climbing five

thousand hitting two one zero

The 560 metric ton super jumbo climbs to
a height of 1 ,000 meters in less than

two minutes.

This is the best moment because the
engines are pushing.

We are finally in the air. I enjoyed
hand -flying the aircraft, but now it's

time for the autopilot.

This is when the brain of the machine
takes over.

It starts by moving some of the plane's
heaviest cargo around, 165 ,000

liters of fuel.

Fuel tanks are crammed into every corner
of this aircraft.

Even the tail is filled with 15 ,000
liters of fuel at takeoff.

But once airborne, the plane moves the
fuel around its body.

pumps for 16 metric tons of kerosene
into tanks in the tips of the wings in

than 20 minutes.

This balances the aircraft perfectly and
keeps it rock solid, even in

turbulence.

For now, Claude places his trust and the

passengers' safety in the hands of the
A380's advanced computer system.

One of the best moments of the flight
when we get our dinner.

That means that we have reached our
cruising altitude. Everything is running

per design for the moment.

Smooth running of the aircraft and the
lives of everyone on board rely on its

four engines working flawlessly through
every flight.

A crack team of engineers tests each
engine to its limits at Air France's

headquarters in Paris.

To test an engine this powerful, they
have to seal it inside a bunker that has

concrete walls almost a meter thick.

The engineers scrutinize every aspect of
the engine's performance in a simulated

takeoff.

This engine fails its vibration test.

It will have to be rebuilt before it's
fit to fly.

The Super Jumbo's engines are at full
thrust.

531 people now sit 39 ,000 feet above
the ground in a metal tube.

Exposure to the outside elements would
cause hypothermia in less than five

minutes.

At the moment, the outside temperature
is minus 60 degrees Celsius, minus 60.

We should not forget, never, that the
real light is just outside on the other

side of the window.

Every one of the aircraft's four million
parts will have to work perfectly to

protect the passengers from this deadly
external environment.

The A380 Super Jumbo hurtles through the
sky at 950 kilometers an hour.

The aircraft is 50 minutes into its 9
,000 kilometer journey from LAX

to Paris.

The Super Jumbo's engines power the
aircraft up to a cruising altitude.

that is almost one and a half times
higher than the peak of Mount Everest.

At this height, there is not enough
oxygen for a human being to survive.

We are flying at 39 ,000 feet, meaning
12 ,000 meters.

But the passenger and we in the cockpit
are breathing normally.

An extraordinary system feeds this
aircraft with oxygen to keep passengers

alive.

It's hidden just outside the cabin.

Right next to the engines, a pipe pushes
scorching hot but

oxygen -rich air from the turbines into
a unique cooling system. It evolved

from one of nature's giants, the African
elephant.

This mammal has air conditioning built
into its ears, a web of blood vessels as

large as a dinner table, through which
15 liters of blood flows every minute.

With one flap of its ears, the elephant
can chill its blood by 5 degrees to keep

cool under the blazing sun.

The A380 takes this idea to the extreme.

A heat exchanger with 5 square meters of
surface area chills hot,

oxygenated air from the turbines down
from a lethal 240 degrees.

to a pleasant 24 and channels it to
passengers inside, keeping them

easily.

We still have Las Vegas not too far away
on the left -hand side here.

Airborne for almost an hour.

Now over Nevada, the Super Jumbo is
riding in a layer of stable air.

There are no turbulence to expect at our
level for the moment, so that's why the

passengers are allowed to circulate.

The cabin crew seizes the opportunity to
get to work.

They have just two hours to heat, serve,
and clear away dinner for 507

passengers.

The only way they could pull this off is
by preparing the food in advance.

It happens here in Los Angeles, in one
of the biggest airport kitchens in the

world.

On the A380, for your special meal, make
sure you get a special meal sticker

from Dispatch. We have a completely full
flight, and that is going to be 67

business class, 38 premium economy, and
389 economy class meals.

Currently, she's packing the business
class. That's 64 breakfast at this

station. And they are packing 64 of the
dinner at the station in front of us.

Anita's team prepares 10 ,000 meals
every night before takeoff, just minutes

from LAX's runway.

Here is our A380 flight.

You can see it takes up most of the room
in this cooler.

I have to allow time for the
transportation to push the flight out to

them to load the truck.

The security has to check the trucks as
well, and then that's pretty much it.

Anita's crew loads 10 metric tons of
ready -made food and drink into 99

onto the plane just before passengers
embark.

Serving 10 restaurants' worth of food in
areas no larger than a broom closet

takes great skill.

507 finished meals create enough garbage
to fill a truck.

With so little space to spare, the crew
relies on this ingenious machine.

It has a unique way of handling waste.

The Super Jumbo has four mini garbage
trucks built into its galleys.

Hidden inside are hydraulic pistons. The
crunch waste was five metric tons of

force, down to a third of its size,
leaving

more space for the passengers.

Intelligent innovations like this
transform the A380 into a two -story

hotel, taking much of the strain off the
crew.

The

mood

in the cabin is relaxed.

But Claude knows that the most difficult
part of the journey lies directly

ahead.

Turbulent airspace.

Even in an A380, turbulence can cause
chaos.

The A380 Super Jumbo is nearly halfway
into its 9 ,000 -kilometer journey from

Los Angeles to Paris.

The aircraft

left LAX 30 minutes behind schedule.

Captain Claude now has one final chance
to make up the delay by hitching a lift

on the jet stream.

The jet stream is a band of fast -moving
air, high up in the atmosphere.

If Claude catches this tailwind, he can
shave an hour off the trip.

But first, he must break through the
raging air on the edge of the jet stream

that's tumbling at hurricane speed.

We don't have too much turbulence in
order to allow a safe service to our

passengers.

Turbulence can be extremely dangerous,
as seen in these photos taken in 2013.

Eleven passengers were injured in this
A380 Super Jumbo when it suddenly

20 meters.

Anything not tied down smashed into the
ceiling.

To keep the passengers safe, Claude
decides to fly 900 meters higher than

to avoid the roughest air.

The speed of the aircraft compared to
the ground is exactly 575 knots. The 190

kilometer an hour tailwind from the jet
stream is pushing the aircraft to almost

90 % of the speed of sound.

Probably in the middle of the tunnel, in
the middle of the jet wind.

Claude has managed to position the Super
Jumbo exactly where he wants it.

So far, Captain Claude's plan is
working.

He's clawed back 30 minutes of the
delay, crossing the Atlantic with barely

bump.

We managed to avoid turbulence.

We didn't have really turbulence.

Now, Captain Claude and his crew must
prepare for the most dangerous part of

whole journey.

Touchdown.

Voilà. Now we are ready to start
descent.

We're going to be landing soon.

So we have to put everything away in the
galley.

And in a few moments, we're going to be
preparing all the passengers at the

cabin for landing.

Ladies and gentlemen, less than five
minutes. It will already be time to

our descent towards Paris -Charles -de
-Gaulle, where we land in 35 minutes

now.

531 lives now depend on the soft cushion
of 22 wheels in the landing gear

beneath the jet.

Landing checklist.

Landing checklist complete.

The A380's tires have to be super strong
to withstand the impact of the 400

metric ton plane as it touches down.

At the Air France maintenance hangar in
Paris, engineer Charles Jackson inspects

the tires on each A380 for signs of wear
or damage.

This tire's possibly been through 200
landings already.

It's worn to its limit.

It's going to have to be changed.

Each tire costs several thousand dollars
and is handmade to precise tolerances.

This tire has 40 layers, one on top of
the other of steel belts and rubber and

nylon. It's much more like a tire they
would use in Formula One.

It's very sticky, and that helps with
the braking action on the runway.

That helps it to not slide off the
runway when they're landing.

It takes engineers more than an hour to
change each tire.

The wheels now in place. That's it. We
can put the airplane back on its feet.

Thanks to maintenance like this, Captain
Claude can be confident that his tires

shouldn't fail on landing.

After 10 hours in the air, the flight
crew prepare for touchdown.

We are all a little bit tired, so...

Radio receivers keep track of the A380's
position to help Claude steer it to a

precise spot on the runway below.

200.

Minimum. Over 500 people and 400 metric
tons of aircraft are relying on the

Super Jumbo's computers to help Claude
to touch down safely.

50, 40, 30, 20, retard, 10,

5.

Moving at 250 kilometers an hour and
with just 2 ,700 meters of runway.

Everything now hinges on the aircraft's
brakes kicking into action.

Hidden in the landing gear is the key to
its stopping power.

Steel arms clamp onto 16 brake discs,
which heat up to 500 degrees in an

instant.

To stop them from melting, they are made
from a super strong material.

It's similar to the heat shield that
protected NASA's space shuttle.

Its nose and wings were covered in
special tiles made from carbon fiber and

graphite.

They could take temperatures twice as
hot as molten lava to give the shuttle a

safe journey home.

The A380 takes this carbon fiber
technology to the extreme.

Its brakes are reinforced with silicone
carbide, which is tougher than diamond.

With such extreme materials under the
hood, the brakes can survive immense

and friction to help stop 400 metric
tons of Airbus without a fail.

But the disc brakes cannot safely stop
the A380 before the end of the runway on

their own.

One final mission -critical component is
needed to bring this beast to a halt.

50, 40, 30.

Traveling at 250 kilometers per hour,
the A380 Super Jumbo slams onto the

at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

This is a critical moment.

To keep the plane on the ground, Claude
must force the weight of the Super Jumbo

down onto the landing gear.

He kills the lift from the wings with
the push of a button.

Hydraulic rams kick into action.

They push up 16 gigantic wingtop
spoilers that disrupt the airflow and

force the plane's weight onto the
tarmac.

This keeps the aircraft on the ground as
it slows down.

The 400 metric ton super jumbo
decelerates to 30 kilometers an hour in

seconds.

After inheriting a one hour delay in Los
Angeles,

Claude's plan to make up time by
hitching a ride on the jet stream has

By flying 900 meters higher than normal,
Claude avoided the extreme turbulence

and 507 passengers crossed the Atlantic,
hardly feeling a bump.

The flight arrives at the stand in
Paris, exactly on schedule.

I think we can be pleased of the flight
because we left Los Angeles with

quite a lot of delay.

We were late and we arrived on time.

We managed to avoid the turbulence.

We have done the job.

For the 330 passengers on board who have

connecting flights.

Claude's decision to use the Jetstream's
hurricane -strength tailwinds to claw

back time means good news.

Bye -bye.

I think all the passengers are happy
because we are on time.

We are on time, so that's the good news.
I can make my connection without being

stressed about it, so everything is
panning out pretty well.

Bye -bye.

Bye -bye.

This plane is a real pleasure for the
pilot.

Many other pilots would like to fly this
aircraft.

It's also a responsibility because we
are landing this aircraft on runways

are covered with snow or not easy.

Each flight is a different story, and we
will go and have our rest. But the

machine is like an industry machine. It
is made to work.

For the super jumbo, there really is no
rest at all.

The ground crew has two and a half hours
to turn the plane around and send it

back on its way to Los Angeles.

In one year, this giant bird will fly
230 ,000 passengers 4

million kilometers on the world's
longest routes.

In its entire lifetime, the A380 Super
Jumbo will fly a staggering 120

million kilometers.

The equivalent of traveling 3 ,000 times
around the circumference of the Earth.

It's all thanks to ingenious inventions
hidden under her hood.

Bulletproof brakes.

Extreme air conditioning.

Engine blades shaped like swords.

Eagle -like wings.

and an armored airframe.

The A380 is the biggest passenger jet to
ever fly.

It's these technological secrets that
have helped this aircraft evolve to rise

above all other machines.