The “IMA Materialforschung und Anwendungstechnik GmbH” , based at the Dresden Airport, specialized in scientific and technical services as well as as research in the field of testing and certification of materials, structures and products, will start in August 2005 the Airbus A380 full scale fatigue test. This will be the hugest test in the history of this company, after smaller full scale tests with Pilatus PC12 and Airbus A340-600.

At the present, the IMA has got a staff of 100 specialists. For the A380 test the company has build a new hanger (width:50m; length: 75m; height: 32m), close to the taxiway.

In september 2004, started in Hamburg, the three fuselage sections and the two wings, arrived Dresden after a duration of 10 days. The absolutely highlight was the transport, because they are to big for tranportation by plane or truck, the sections were loaded in Hamburg onto barges. They shipped the distance of 570 km over the river Elbe and crossed 42 bridges! The barges were reloaded at an highway-bridge, which span the river. A special 800 tons crane lifted the sections and the wings to trailers, which waited on the bridge. The trucks moved over the motorway to the Dresden Airport.

In the next months, mechanics from Airbus Toulouse will compose the whole aircraft. It will be the first A380, which is completed in Germany!!