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The World's Biggest Passenger Planes Keep Breaking Down

13 hours 44 minutes ago
The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial passenger jet, faces mounting maintenance challenges as regulatory authorities issue an increasing number of safety directives. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has listed 95 airworthiness directives for the A380 since January 2020, approximately double the number issued for large Boeing aircraft during the same period. The directives address problems including leaking escape slides, cracked seals, and a ruptured landing-gear axle. A comprehensive maintenance check of the massive plane requires 60,000 hours of labor, according to aircraft repairer Lufthansa Technik. Airlines remain committed to operating the twin-deck aircraft due to limited large-capacity alternatives, with Boeing's 777X years behind schedule and Airbus unable to produce long-haul A350s quickly enough. British Airways plans to overhaul A380 cabins starting next year, while Emirates intends to keep flying the aircraft until the end of the next decade.

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Blender 3D app suite could touch down on tablets, starting with iPad

14 hours 5 minutes ago
Some users keen while others point out pile of unresolved bugs in core product

The open source Blender 3D editing suite may be adapted to run on Apple's iPad and other tablets, despite concern from one contributor that the team is already stretched with "thousands of bugs languishing in the tracker."…

Tim Anderson