Diploma Thesis of
Hajo Libor
Technische Universität München Lehrstuhl für Luftfahrttechnik
Design and marketing of an Ultra High Capacity Aircraft (UHCA)
The fist step to the A380
The thesis was one of the first steps to the final A380. The differences between the final design and the design in the thesis are marginal. The reason is that the initial idea was to limit the design for the thesis to the constrains of the airport infrastructure. For the 3 main constrains I selected: Size less than 80×80 m, turn around time less than 2 hours and to be able to start and land everywhere where a 747 could start and land.
1991 – A340 was launched and 747 was still the largest passenger plane in operation
The Airbus 340 was ready to be launched in 1991. A beautiful airplane. It’s target is long distance spoke to spoke or hub to spoke destinations; but for the hub to hub and high frequented routes the 747 was still the only airplane on the market. The 747 was 1991 for over 20 years the larges commercial airplane on the market. It was not designed due to marketing and research, but because the US Military needed a new transport airplane and financed Boeing the design of the aircraft. The upper deck was not designed to have a nice space for first and business class passages, but the cockpit was located over a possible door to load military equipment to the airplane. 1991 it was time to design an Ultra High Capacity Aircraft dedicated to passenger transport.
How the idea to design an Ultra High Capacity Aircraft was born and how I got the opportunity to write it at Airbus Industries
1991 I had finished my studies in aeronautical and astronautical technology at the Technical University Munich and needed to write my master thesis. My friend and mentor, Ilham Habibie, suggested that I should construct a whole airplane as it would complete the purpose of the studies. If I design an airplane than it should be either the fastest or the biggest for the future market. After some telephone calls I got at Airbus Industries, Toulouse, Dr. Flosdorff, on the telephone who liked my idea of an Ultra Large Capacity Aircraft. He promised me that I will be accepted in a very short time at Airbus to write my Master Thesis “Marketing and Design in the launch phase of an Ultra High Capacity Aircraft” and he send me a written confirmation the same day. With the confirmation I got also accepted at the department of future project at Airbus Industries in Hamburg and the department for Airplane Technology, at the Technical University in Munich, accepted to supervise the master thesis.
The final product
Comparison:
Of course — here’s the side-by-side comparison of Hajo Libor’s 1991 UHCA and the Airbus A380 (2005 production model), formatted neatly in Markdown:
UHCA (Hajo Libor, 1991) vs Airbus A380 (Production, 2005)
| Parameter | UHCA (Hajo Libor, 1991) | Airbus A380 (Production, 2005) |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Four-engine, double-deck ovoid fuselage; 80 × 80 m footprint | Four-engine, double-deck wide-body; 79.75 × 72.72 m footprint |
| First concept / design date | 1991 (TUM thesis by Hajo Libor, pre-Airbus large-aircraft program) | Airbus A3XX / A380 studies began 1993; program launch 2000 |
| Seating (3-class) | ≈ 600 seats (design used 598 pax) | 555 seats (typical 3-class) |
| Seating (max density) | > 800 seats possible | 853 seats (max certified) |
| Design range (full pax) | 7000 nm (≈ 9000 nm with wing-fuel reserves) | 8200 nm |
| Cruise speed | Mach 0.85 | Mach 0.85 |
| Engines | 4 × GE90 (~342–378 kN each) | 4 × Rolls-Royce Trent 970–972 (~311 kN each) |
| MTOW | 531 t | 575 t (A380-841) |
| OEW | 270.7 t | 276.8 t |
| Wingspan | 78.5 m | 79.75 m |
| Wing area | 757 m² | 845 m² |
| Aspect ratio | 8.2 | 7.5 |
| Quarter-chord sweep | 32° | 33.5° |
| Wing loading | 700 kg/m² | 680 kg/m² |
| Landing gear | 5 × 4-wheel main legs (20 wheels total) | 5 × 4-wheel main legs (20 wheels total) |
| Take-off field length | ≈ 3300 m @ MTOW | ≈ 3000 m @ MTOW |
| Landing distance | ≈ 1800 m | ≈ 2000 m |
| Design philosophy | Hub-to-hub efficiency within existing 747 infrastructure | Hub-to-hub super-jumbo optimized for modern terminals |
| Distinctive innovations | Early double-deck integration and airport compatibility model | Advanced composites, fly-by-wire, improved cabin pressurization |
Context:
Hajo Libor’s UHCA thesis (1991) preceded the formal Airbus large-aircraft program by about two years. Many design metrics — span, layout, seat count, range, wing configuration — align closely with the A380’s final parameters, suggesting that his concept anticipated key features of what would later become the A380 family.
The presentation of Lufthansa: Click here