Water trough trials, to explore the A380's ground-handling characteristics in runway standing water, were satisfactorily completed at Istres, France, in October 2005.

Cold weather trials were carried out by F-WWDD in Iqaluit, Canada, in February this year at temperatures as low as -30°C.

For icing trials, the fin and tailplane leading edges of F-WWOW have been painted orange. This is to enable ice build-up to be clearly seen - accretion is almost invisible against the white airframe.

A sign of things to come, A380, F-WWDD, is seen at London Heathrow on May 18, 2006 during the type's latest airport compatibility check. A380s have visited over 20 airports; some, such as Singapore and Frankfurt for operational testing, and a number of smaller airports, including Medallin, Columbia and Iqaluit, Canada, for performance trials.

During static testing, the wing tip was deflected by over 24ft.

Preparing for the bird ingestion test on the Trent 900. It was the first time a Rolls-Royce engine had been subjected to a demanding new test in which a 5 1/2 lb bird is ingested at take-off conditions. The Trent 900 passed with flying colours, only losing 2.7% thrust, well within the 50% allowed.