ANTELOPE VALLEY press

Palmdale Runways Can Handle A380s

Thursday, May 23, 2002
Antelope Valley Press

Editorial: LAX, hemmed in by development and an ocean, will not be ab!e to handle the huge new double-decker Airbus A380, which will carry 555 passengers and should have widely separated runways and taxiways. But a solution to these problems can be found in Palmdale.

LAX, you have a problem! But don't worry. We have a solution. The problem is that the Airbus A380 - a hotel-sized aircraft able to carry 555 passengers on a 9,200 mile trip - is expected to serve the Los Angeles region within four years. But Los Angeles International Airport is totally inadequate in terms of providing runways and terminal facilities for this double-decker airplane, which is 239 feet long and has a wingspan of 261 feet. Los Angeles World Airports has estimated that it may cost as much as $1.2 billion to upgrade already overcrowded LAX in order to allow the A380 to use the field. Runways and taxiways would have to be separated and widened, an engineering nightmare because LAX has a finite size of only about 3,000 acres - about twice the land embraced by the Rancho Vista development in Palmdale. The A380 is expected to go into commercial service in 2006. Most airport projects require 11 years from the time the concept is conceived to the completion date. Six companies have plans to serve the Los Angeles region with the gigantic, oversized Airbus - VIrgin, Qantas, Sjngapore Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa and FedEx. Airbus is spending $12 billion in developing the new superplane. It will be 79 feet high and will weigh 606,000 pounds empty. Its cruising speed will be 630 miles per hour. It will be built to carry passengers and, in another version, to carry cargo. So far, Airbus has received 97 orders for the monolithic plane from nine firms. The huge problems faced in completely re-engineering and rebuilding the infrastructure at LAX can be eliminated by allowing the Airbus A380 to use the facilities at Air Force Plant 42 with some relatively inexpensive additions to Palmdale Regional Airport. The point is that the main 12,000 foot runway at Plant 42 is reputedly the strongest and best runway in the world, capable of handling the heaviest aircraft. It should be noted that on Oct. 14, 1969, Lockheed's C-5A Galaxy established a new world record after lifting off from Edwards Air Force Base with a gross weight of 798,100 pounds. The six companies that hope to serve the L.A.. area are seeking only 11 flights a day by 2010. Some large-scale projects would be necessary to handle the A380 flights, with 550 passengers disembarking and embarking and with more than 1,000 pieces of luggage on each flight, and structures would have to be built to accommodate the passenger walkways for the doubledeck doors. Obviously, passengers must be transported to and from the L.A. basin - preferably by high-speed rail, although buses could be used temporarily. The fact that FedEx is eager to use this huge plane for cargo would fit comfortably into our space-available high desert region, which is becoming a major distribution hub. (We already have the Rite-Aid and Michaels distribution centers in Lancaster). Air Force Plant 42, at 5,700 acres, is nearly twice the size of LAX. In addition, Los Angeles World Airports owns an adjacent 17,700-acre spread east of the military facility for future development. When that time comes, the engineers would be well advised to plan on planes even bigger than the A380. World air traffic is expected to triple in 20 years. The greater Los Angeles area is the prime destination and hub for Airbus' next-generation aircraft. The LAX problems can be resolved by using existing facilities at Palmdale and by adding some relatively inexpensive structures designed to accommodate all commercial air craft. How about it, Mayor Hahn?