OBTW: I'm neither looking forward to AirTruck's demise (..which I don't think has any chance of happening..), nor am I desirous of having that to occur - their aircraft workers need jobs just like our folks at Boeing, et al, do. Management at EADS/AirTruck, and their money shlushing goombahs in EU government circles, simply need to get their arses booted up around their shoulder blades for their 2-bit, back-door, subsidizing skulduggery..!!!
The situation that irks the crap out of me is having smug-arse, snot-nosed, pseudoCommie governments like France secretly or openly subsidizing unfair competition against established USA companies like Boeing, MacDonnell-Douglas, Convair, Consolidated, Republic, etc., who basically taught the rest of the world how to build airplanes, airlines, and aircargo carriers.
There's a clear lesson to be learned here, even if some spoiled jackarse like Henry Kissmyassinger wants to schmooze free government paid tickets on supersonic joyrides while pulling the wool over everyone's eyes in the process. Boeing submitted proposals for the original SST, and when everyone saw the costs, and the EnviroWackos went ape-dungy, they pulled the plug on it. Consequently, the French convinced the Brits to cough up Bazillions of government bucks to subsidize/build the Concorde. The Concorde was beautiful, fast, sexy, technologically advanced, etc.. etc., etc. - and it never made a damn dime..!!! What's left of the Concorde fleet are now hanger queens or laying in pieces on the French countryside.
The object is keep the playing field "..flat and fair..". When the Oh-so-Chic EuroBirdies can compete with our planes on a fair basis - more power to them. In the interim, the more sales they lose to American aircraft manufacturers the happier I am. You should never reward cheaters.
The thing that really whizzes me off about the AirTruck A380 is that they have clearly compromised passenger emergency exit safety in order to try and get that Bloat-O-Plane to fit into existing aircraft terminals that are already incapable of handling the thundering herds though the security systems. It's another BS recipe for a major disaster if some Wacko Raghead starts a fire in the plane, or sets off a bomb at the gate area.
John :-)
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