9/19/2023 0 Comments Largest passenger plane![]() The most desirable item, however, was a full business cabin bar, measuring over seven feet high, which has become one of the symbols of the airplane in its lavish Emirates configuration. This gave aviation enthusiasts a chance to buy almost every piece of the plane, from smaller items like doorstops, seatbelts, handrails, exit signs, latches, lamps, curtains and kettles to bulky ones including entire seat rows, staircases, drinks carts and engine parts, some of which came in special editions painted by a range of artists. Or as Roques puts it: “Taking out parts that are iconic or interesting to use as decorative elements.” Late last year, Airbus did just that in a bid to raise money for charity, and auctioned off hundreds of parts from a former Emirates A380. It’s heavily dependent on the number of parts that need to be removed from the aircraft - and that can vary based on the requirements of the client.īut there’s also a different way of doing things: upcycling. The cost of the operation is in the “six figure” region, he says. Of course, some composite material or some dangerous goods that cannot be recycled will remain, but we’re talking about a small percentage, like 1% to 3%, that will be residual waste or go to landfill,” adds Roques. “The remaining waste is as minimal as possible. Tarmac says that it commits to recycling “up to the last screw,” and although no specific regulations exist in the field, it aims to recover over 90% of the aircraft by weight. You also have to be careful in terms of safety and work environment, because when you’ve got a mechanic working on the second deck of the aircraft, that’s really high.” Roques explains: “Because it’s such a large aircraft, you need a large facility, and you need to adapt your tooling and your methods to something that’s very big. “This is where we separate all the different materials, whether it’s aluminum, titanium or copper, and make sure that we give them to the proper recovery channels that will reuse them in something new tomorrow,” says Roques.ĭue to the massive size of the A380, which has 120 tons of aluminum alone, this phase lasts months, and is particularly challenging. ![]() Once it’s completed, they move on to the next stage: waste management. This part of the process generally lasts a few weeks. ![]() ![]() “Sometimes we can give them to schools or training facilities so that new mechanics or students coming into the industry can train on real parts,” says Roques. They can also be used for training purposes. In the case of A380 parts, they become spare components for the existing fleet of A380s. These parts are checked and resold with complete traceability, guaranteeing their airworthiness. These include the engines, the landing gear and some of the avionics - the electronic components of the aircraft that handle tasks like communications or navigation. “So the first step is to take out some pieces that will continue flying on another aircraft.” How do you recycle such a huge airplane, and what happens to the resulting parts and materials? “Recycling starts by reusing and extending the life of the different components of the aircraft, as you do at your home,” says Lionel Roques, sales director at Tarmac Aerosave. ![]()
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