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Few other industries focus on weight as much as aircraft manufacturers, and with good reason. Every extra pound contributes to fuel costs - and impacts the bottom line for the airlines. Since the 1970s, military aircraft have been using 5000 psi hydraulic systems, which use lighter-weight components to actuate the flight control surfaces. Passenger aircraft have been relegated to 3000-psi hydraulic systems (with the exception of the Concorde, which features a 4000 psi system). Now Airbus' new A380, a monster of a plane, is changing all that....More