Wing assembly for the world's largest commercial aircraft, the A380 from Airbus (Toulouse, France), occurs in two phases. First, large aluminum-alloy wing panels that make up the "skin" of the structure are fabricated and joined to stringers, which provide strength and aerodynamic curvature. These wing panels-10 per wing-are then joined to an internal wing structure made up of spars running the length of the wing and ribs crossing from the leading to the trailing edge.
The sheer size of the wings makes their assembly an engineering challenge: Each wing is almost 120 feet long, creating a total surface area of 9,100 square feet. Their assembly includes the drilling of tens of thousands of precisely positioned holes to receive the requisite fasteners.