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An Airbus A380 fuselage is manufactured in three different parts and then assembled together:

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(Images courtesy of Airbus S.A.S 1994)

The fuselage functions under extreme conditions: low pressure outside and normal pressure on the inside (normal for humans, that is), and wind drag at near Mach 1 speeds.

How are the three parts joined together to complete an airtight unit? Does one fit into the other in a male-female configuration and how are they held together? Is it nuts and bolts, rivets, screws, airtight glue or a combination of them all? Pictures would be greatly appreciated.

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  • $\begingroup$ Not even jetliners are air-tight, nor do they need to be. They only need to maintain enough pressure that the pressurization system can make up the loss. $\endgroup$
    – user
    Apr 25, 2018 at 12:28
  • $\begingroup$ bleeding air from the engine to pressurize the fuselage reduces thrust and reduces fuel efficiency. Therefore the amount of air bleeded for pressurizing an airplane should be as optimal as possible, correct to the most optimal decimal point. The same applies to the air outlets and inlets for circulating air in and out of the plane of fuselage.... Thefore everything has to be calculated no holes and exits that are not accounted for $\endgroup$
    – securitydude5
    Apr 25, 2018 at 13:36
  • $\begingroup$ Don't forget the 2 wings, the tail section, and landing gear, (nose, left and right). Those are also very large pieces. Fuselages are only pressurized to 8000 feet typically, while flown at 41000, 43000, maybe even 45000 feet. Fresh air needs to be circulated, otherwise people get headaches and other symptoms from too much CO2 and not enough O2. $\endgroup$
    – CrossRoads
    Apr 25, 2018 at 15:01

1 Answer 1

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With approximately 19,000 rivets.

This picture is of the wing attachments, but the fuselage joints use the same attachment method.

enter image description here

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