Which Airbus A380 versions are there around?
Versions named A3XX-100, A3XX-200 are definitely what-ifs - Airbus has adopted different names and specifications by now.
A380-841 and -861 are definitely real, in service.
Is Airbus 380-800F a real plane, or what-if? All the outstanding orders have been cancelled. But Airbus is theoretically willing to accept new orders to the same specifications, should any orders be made.
What about modified passenger planes? Airbus speaks of A380-900. But although many airlines ask for it, Airbus has not officially "launched" A380-900, and is not accepting orders.
There was a plan for A380-700 as well. Which, like A380-900, is in the "unlaunched" state - but there seems to be little interest for or talk about A380-700. Is A380-700 a what-if yet?
Regarding A380-900, the plan has long been that A380-900 length would be 79,8 m, like wingspan - exactly filling 80X80 m box. But ILFC leader publicly declared that airports could handle longer planes - and asked for Airbus to produce longer 380.
Seeing how ILFC is the biggest customer of planes, is such a longer A380 a mere FANTASY, or something more serious?
How to refer to it? As A380-900, still? Or as A380-1000?
What are the inbuilt modification options of A380? The current MTOW is 569 tons. There has been talk of numbers like 590 tons, 625 tons, 650 tons...
Considering the wing loading compared to the 380 ton A340-600HGW, A380 would have the same wing loading at MTOW of 750 tons!
What are the landing gear options? It has been said that the body gears of A380 are far apart compared to B747. The distant gears would contribute to drag... Is it possible, or planned, to add fifth, middle main gear leg to A380?
Also fuselage. A380 evacuation was tested with 538 seats on lower deck and 315 seats on upper deck. There are 5 door pairs on lower and 3 pairs on upper deck.
Any stretching of A380 would cause issues with seat capacity, because there are only 12 and 15 seats left to 550 and 330. There is a provision for fourth exit pair on upper deck at the top of grand staircase. But where could sixth exit pair go on lower deck?
If A380-1000 were, say, 86,6 m long (another 6,8 m beyond 79,8 m A380-900), would six main deck door pairs and 660 seats be enough?
