Airbus' new A340-500 is now able to fly non-stop from Singapore to New
York, and Singapore to Los Angeles. Is it technically possible for
the A340-500, or other latest Airbus models such as the A340-600, A380
family or the new Boeing 7E7 to fly from Singapore non-stop to the
following cities in
the Americas continent? The destination cities are :
Miami, USA
Dallas, USA
Mexico City, Mexico
Panama City, Panama
Sao Paolo, Brazil
Lima, Peru
Santiago, Chile
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Please state which model of aircraft is able to fly to which city
direct and non-stop from Singapore, flight directions (eastward or
westward from Singapore) and estimated flight times.
Is it technically possible for any of the above aircraft models to fly
from Shanghai or Beijing to fly non-stop to any city in Central or
South America? If so, which aircraft model, to which Central or South
America city would be its maximum range, and estimated flight time.
thanks |
erym-ga,
After compiling a table of distances between cities and airplane range
information information I have come to the following conclusion. The
only airplane capable of making any of these flights is the A340-500,
B7E7-8 and A380-50R.
A340-500
Texas
Beunos Aires
B7E7-8
Texas
Beunos Aires
A380-50R
Texas
Beunos Aires
Sao Paolo
While the A380-100, A380-100R, A380-100C11, A380-100F, A380-200 can
technically make all of these flights if the plane is empty, it is not
very often an aircraft will take off without any passengers. Also,
carriers will not exceed the recommended range for a specific
aircraft.
The cruising speed of these aircrafts is about 0.85 Mach or about 900
km/h. thus, flying to Texas and Beunos Aires requires 17-18 h flying
time. Flying to Sao Paolo is about 18-19 h. Both time values have an
hour difference to account for trade winds.
The distance from Beijing to the southernmost city of South America
(Punta Arenas in Chile) is about 18458. After slowly narrowing my
search, I've found that the A380-50R can make it to the northern parts
of South America from Beijing and Shanghai, as well as its eastern
edge, Namely Venezuela, Colombia, Eastern Brazil and most of Central
America.
From Beijing, Rio Branco, Brazil (at about 16300 km) is the farthest
inland you can go approaching from the west, and Salvador, Brazil (at
about 16100 km) is the farthest inland you can go approaching from the
east. Flying times are 18-19 hours.
From Shanghai, you can get to Georgetown, Guyana (at about 15800 km)
approaching from the east and Bogota, Colombia (at about 15800 km)
from the west. Flying times are 17-18 hours.
These are the tables of data I used.
Singapore to ... Distances
Miami 10558 mi 16989 km
Texas 9733 mi 15662 km
Mexico City 10331 mi 16624 km
Panama City 11703 mi 18831 km
Sao Paolo 9943 mi 16000 km
Lima 11703 mi 18832 km
Santiago 10197 mi 16409 km
Buenos Aires 9878 mi 15896 km
Airplane Range
A340-200 14800 km
A340-300 13500 km
A340-500 15800 km
A340-600 13900 km
A340-8000 14816 km
The value after the "/" indicates the range of the aircraft if the plane is empty.
A380-100 11482 / 18520 km
A380-100R 13334 / 22224 km
A380-100C7 13464 km
A380-100C11 12964 / 18520 km
A380-100F 10603 / 20835 km
A380-50 14168 km
A380-50R 16205 km
A380-200 11482 / 20372 km
A380-800 15100 km
B7E7-8 15700 km
B7E7-9 15400 km
If you have any questions, please feel free to clarify. I am willing
to work until you are completely satisfied.
Cheers,
Tox-ga
References:
http://www.flybernhard.de/ueb_eng.htm?http://www.flybernhard.de/a340_e.htm
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Airbus%20A340
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/7e7/flash.html
http://www.airbus.com/dynamic/product/index_h.asp
http://www.didyouknow.cd/whatsnew/airbus.htm
http://www.geobytes.com/CityDistanceTool.htm
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/south_america.html |
Request for Answer Clarification by
erym-ga
on
16 Jun 2004 09:41 PDT
Thanks Tox !
Some clarifications :
1) For the distances betweem Singapore and the various cities in the
America's continent, can you give me the distance traveling both
eastward and westwards, starting from Singapore? Just as a comparison
to what is currently feasible, can you also state the distance between
Singapore and New York (flying westwards starting from Singapore) and
Los Angeles (flying eastwards across the Pacific starting from
Singapore).
2) Perhaps clarifications to the above would help answer this next
question; flying westwards from Singapore, it would seem that distance
to Miami is less then Texas, however your table below states that
Miami is further by another 700km. Same for Sao Paolo and Buenos
Aires, flying westwards from Singapore (across Indian Ocean and
Atlantic), shouldn't the distance to Sao Paolo be closer then Buenos
Aires?
3) Considering direction of flight starting from Singapore, does it
make any difference the cities each of the aircraft models are able to
reach? For example, if distance from Singapore to Sao Paolo is
shorter than to Buenos Aires, the A340-500 should be able to be fly
from Singapore to Sao Paolo as well.
4) If not stated after the "/", the aircraft ranges given are full capacity?
5) The aircraft models are all new models. Can you tell me which
ones are already operational/deployed by airlines, and which ones are
on the order books to be coming on stream in the next 1-2 years (if
possible, which airlines)?
6) Would you be able to also let me know the passenger capacities of
the various aircrafts?
cheers,
|
Clarification of Answer by
tox-ga
on
16 Jun 2004 12:52 PDT
erym-ga,
The distances I have provided are the shortest distances between
cities (typically flying east from Singapore). I have consulted a
friend who is a certified flight instructor and he has told me that
flight plans are always designed around the shortest distance between
cities. To fly the "other way" would only increase the distance, and
further reduce the number of planes that could make the trip. If you
are checking this by eye-balling a map, you must remember that these
maps have distortion which must be accounted for. Also, since most
maps are Atlantic Ocean centered, it may not be intuitive to fly east
from Singapore.
The flight ranges given are for full capacity if there is no "/".
The Boeing 7E7 has just very recently been launched and plans to be in
service by 2008. Currently, only All Nippon Airways has made any
purchases of this new "dreamliner".
(http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2004/q2/nr_040426g.html)
The Airbus 380 family of planes plans to enter service in 2006. Their
customer list is extensive, including Air France, Emirates (UAE),
Federal Express, ILFC, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysian Airline,
Quantas Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic
Airways.
(http://www.speednews.com/lists/AirbusA380.html)
All of the 340 models are currently in service. I have compiled a list
of carriers and which models they currently have in service/are
ordering for you (courtesy of http://www.speednews.com), located at:
http://www.maxlin.ca/tos/ga/airlines.htm
An extensive list of orders and deliveries of Airbus Models, provided
by Airbus, can be found at:
http://www.maxlin.ca/tos/ga/orders_n_deliveries.xls
The capacity of each plane type depends on the cabin layout. I will
list all of the possible passenter capacities for you:
A340-200 300 (2 class) / 261 (3 class)
A340-300 335 (2 class) / 295 (3 class)
A340-500 359 (2 class) / 313 (3 class)
A340-600 419 (2 class) / 380 (3 class)
A340-8000 232 (3 class)
(http://www.airbus.com/product/a340_a200_cabin_layouts.asp)
A380-100 850 (1 class)
A380-100R 850 (1 class)
A380-100C7 850 (1 class)
A380-100C11 850 (1 class)
A380-50 775 (1 class)
A380-50R 775 (1 class)
A380-200 960 (1 class)
A380 555 (3 class)
A380F Designed for carrying cargo
(http://www.flybernhard.de/ueb_eng.htm?http://www.flybernhard.de/a380_e.htm)
B7E7-8 217 (3 class)
B7E7-9 257 (3 class)
(http://www.boeing.com/commercial/7e7/flash.html)
Cheers,
Tox-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
erym-ga
on
02 Jul 2004 17:50 PDT
Dear Tox
Thanks again for the clarification. Sorry for the delay in getting
back as I was away for a while. Your point about eye-balling a map is
correct. However, I am eye-balling a globe and the discrepancies just
doesn't seem to add up (reference Question 2 in my first
clarification).
The best way is to find out what are the distances respectively,
traveling eastwards and westwards, originating from Singapore, to
reach the various cities.
I know this maybe a little tricky, really appreciate your help !
cheers
|
Clarification of Answer by
tox-ga
on
02 Jul 2004 21:15 PDT
erym-ga,
The distances you have requested (eastward and westward) are actually
quite impossible to find. Let me try to explain. On a geometric
sphere, the only distance that can be definitely stated is the
shortest distance between two points (what I have supplied). If you
require any other distance (such as an arbitrary eastward and westward
distance) then three points are required to define the line connecting
the two points (the two end points and an intermediate point).
On two dimensional maps, this idea seems entirely counterintuitive as
there is definitely a shortest path westward and eastward (merely
connect the two points with a straightedge). However, only one such
"shortest path" exists on a sphere and this path does not necessarily
coincide with the path traced out on a flat map. To demonstrate this,
get yourself a sphere and affix a piece of string on a point. Then
arbitrarily designate another point and connect the two with the
string. If you pull the string so that it is taunt, you will find that
it assumes the shortest path. If you grasp the middle of the string,
and move it around, you will find that the length of the path
gradually increases.
Herein lies the impossibility of finding an eastward and westward
distance. Since the length of the string increases gradually as you
deviate the string from its "shortest path", there is no definite
eastward and westward distance.
The answer to your question #2 is that you are eyeballing a two
dimensional map. One of my contacts has a three dimensional mapping
program and has graciously approximated the shortest paths between
your highlighted cities. I have copied these into a .gif located at
http://www.maxlin.ca/tos/ga/map.gif.
The actual lengths of the paths are not to scale. To appreciate the
actual lengths of these paths, you should follow them using a globe
and a piece of string. However, you can sort of see why the distance
to Miami is farther than Houston. Once again, these do not seem like
the shortest paths on a two dimensional map. However, on a sphere,
these are the only definite lengths that you can measure. Connecting
Singapore and a city with a straight line (on a flat map) would
actually be farther then the currently indicated lines.
I hope this clarifies my answer.
Cheers,
Tox-ga
|
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