Jürgen Thomas (aircraft designer)

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Jürgen Thomas (* 1937 in Leipzig ) is a German aircraft manufacturer , he is considered the father of the Airbus A380 .

Studies and professional activity

After graduating from high school in 1957, he studied mechanical engineering and aerodynamics in Munich . From 1962 he worked in aircraft construction at Ernst Heinkel GmbH and from 1964 at VFW Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke in Bremen, where he was involved in many civil and military projects.

From 1976 to 1988 he worked at Airbus as chief engineer of the A310 program and then as manager of the entire A300 / A310 program at Airbus Industrie in Toulouse. In 1988 he moved to Hamburg as chief planner of a German-Chinese joint project MPC75 , which was not implemented, and at the same time was director of the European-American VLCT project for the construction of a transatlantic wide-body aircraft, which was also not completed due to the different interests of the carriers.

In March 1996 he was given responsibility for the A3XX program, which eventually led to the development of the A380 . Thomas is a member of the Airbus Executive Committee. In 2001 he was named Manager of the Year in the Aerospace Industry. The high point of his career for the time being is the naming of the delivery center at Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport, which opened in July 2008, after his name.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ready for heaven. In: sueddeutsche.de. December 5, 2008, accessed September 24, 2018 .
  2. ↑ http://2004.reports.eads.net/2004/ar_2004/en/downloads/Book1/The_A380_takes_off.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / 2004.reports.eads.net  
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Jürgen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German aircraft manufacturer, he is known as the "father of the A380"
DATE OF BIRTH 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig