EADS-Airbus
Introduction[]
The A380-800 on its flight tests in Hamburg, Germany
Company Logo.
Airbus is a joint european company that manufactures aircraft and aircraft parts. Its headquarters is located in Toulouse, France and its Factory hangar in Hamburg, Germany.
Products[]
The company's 1st aircraft is the Airbus A300. It was not recognized for about 2 years after its production. Its 1st customer for the Airbus A300 is Air France which noted the aircraft is fuel efficient as well as cheap maintenance.
Today it produces A320s(Includes A318,A319,A320, and A321),A330s, A340, and recently the Super Jumbo Airbus A380. The airline is also currently developing the Airbus A350.
Orders[]
The current orders are official and based thru Cyber Airlines Role-play forums:
- PAL-Philippine Airlines
-Airbus A320-200 [Status Completed]
-Airbus A340-600 [Status 4 on order]
-Airbus A350-1000 [Status 2 on order]
-Airbus A330-300 [Status 1 on order]
-Airbus A380-800 [Status 2 on order]
-Airbus A380-800F [Status 2 on order]
List of Aircraft[]
A300[]
(this article needs editing)
A310[]
The range of the A310 exceeds that of the A300-series with the exception of the A300-600, which surpasses the A310-200. The ability of the A310 to go farther than earlier Airbus designs has led to the aircraft being used extensively on transatlantic routes. The A300 and A310 introduced the concept of commonality: A300-600 and A310 pilots can qualify for the other aircraft with one day of training.
A further development of the A300, the aircraft was initially designated the A300 B10. Essentially a "baby" A300, the main differences in the two aircraft are
- Shortened fuselage: same cross section, providing capacity of about 200.
- Redesigned rear fuselage: altered tapering and moving aft of the rear bulkhead created additional capacity. The redesign was also used for the A300-600 and A330/A340 fuselages.
- Redesigned wing, designed by British Aerospace who rejoined Airbus consortium
- Smaller vertical fin
The A310 was marketed as an introduction to widebody operations for developing airlines. The A310 was replaced in Airbus' lineup by the highly successful A330-200, which shares its fuselage cross-section. Between 1983 and the very last aircraft produced in 1998, 255 A310s were delivered by Airbus.
The A300 and A310 established Airbus as a competitor to Boeing and allowed it to go ahead with the more ambitious A320 and A330/A340 families.
A320 Family[]
- Main article: Airbus A320 Family
The Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range commercial passenger airliners are manufactured by Airbus and are the only narrowbody in their product line. Family members include the A318, A319, A320, and A321, as well as the ACJ business jet.
The A320 pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire flight control systems in a commercial aircraft. With more than 4,000 aircraft of the A320 family built, it is the second best-selling jet airliner family of all time after its primary competition, the Boeing 737.
After the initial success of the A300, Airbus began developing a new model aimed at replacing the world's most popular aircraft at the time, the Boeing 727. The new Airbus would be of the same size, yet offer improved operating economics and various passenger capacities. The digital technology in the A320 would herald a two-generation technological leap over the all-analogue Boeing 727 and be a generation ahead of the Boeing 737-300/-400/-500 series. The A320 was targeted at the global fleet replacement requirements for the 727 and early variants of the 737.After the oil prices rises of the 1970s, Airbus needed to minimise the trip fuel costs of the A320. To that end, Airbus incorporated advanced features including fly-by-wire flight control, composite primary structures, centre-of-gravity control using fuel, glass cockpit (EFIS) and a two-person flight deck. The end result was that the A320 consumes 50% less fuel than the 727. According to a study cited by the Stockholm Environmental Institute, the A320 burns 11,608 kilograms of jet fuel flying between Los Angeles and New York City, which is about 77.4 kilograms per passenger in an A320 with 150 seats.
Bernard Ziegler was the initiator of the aircraft's then revolutionary fly-by-wire flight controls with sidestick cockpit controller and full glass cockpit. He successfully convinced aviation authorities of the concept's validity.
A318[]
A319[]
A320[]
The A320 series has two variants, the A320-100 and A320-200. Only 21 A320-100s were ever produced. The A320-200 features wingtip fences and increased fuel capacity over the A320-100 for increased range; other than that differences are minimal. The last 5 A320-100 aircraft, operated by British Airways, were disposed of at the end of 2007. Typical range with 150 passengers for the A320-200 is about 2,900 nautical miles (5,400 km). It is powered by two CFMI CFM56-5 or IAE V2500 with thrust ratings between 25,500 to 27,000 pounds force (113 kN to 120 kN). The direct Boeing competitor is the B737-800. Currently PAL-Philippine Airlines is the major airline operating the A320, but it has finished all 3 orders for this aircraft.
A321[]
The A321 is a minimum change stretch of the A320.
The A321 program was launched in November 1989 and the first development aircraft first flew on 11 March 1993. European certification was awarded in December that year. Its direct competitor is the Boeing 757-200.
Compared with the A320 the A321's major change is the stretched fuselage, with forward and rear fuselage plugs totalling 6.93m (22 ft 9in) (front plug immediately forward of wing 4.27m/14 ft, rear plug directly behind the wing 2.67m/8 ft 9in).
Other changes include strengthening of the undercarriage to cope with the higher weights, more powerful engines, a simplified and refined fuel system and larger tires for better braking. A slightly modified wing with double slotted flaps and modifications to the flight controls allows the A321's handling characteristics to closely resemble the A320's. The A321 features an identical flightdeck to that on the A319 and A320, and shares the same type rating as the smaller two aircraft.
The basic A321-100 features a reduction in range compared to the A320 as extra fuel tankage was not added to the initial design to compensate for the extra weight. To overcome this Airbus launched the longer range, heavier A321-200 development in 1995 which has a full-passenger transcontinental US range. This is achieved through higher thrust engines (V2533-A5 or CFM56-5B3), minor structural strengthening, and greater fuel capacity with the installation of one, or optionally two 2,900 litre (766US gal/638Imp gal) additional centre fuel tanks.
A330[]
The Airbus A330 is a large-capacity, wide-body, twin-engine, medium-to-long-range commercial passenger airliner. Built at Toulouse in France by Airbus, over 5 units have been delivered.
First flown in 1992 the A330 was developed at the same time as the four-engined Airbus A340 and shared common fuselage and wing components.
A330-200[]
The A330-200 was developed to compete with the Boeing 767-300ER. The A330-200 is similar to the A340-200 and a shortened version of the A330-300. With poor sales of the A340-200 (of which only 28 were built), Airbus decided to use the fuselage of the A340-200 with the wings and engines of the A330-300. This significantly improved the economics of the plane and made the model more popular than the four-engined variant.
Its vertical fin is taller than that of the A330-300 to restore its effectiveness due to the shorter moment arm of the shorter fuselage. It has additional fuel capacity and, like the A330-300, has a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 233 tonnes. Typical range with 253 passengers in a three-class configuration is 12,500 km (6,750 nautical miles).
A330-300[]
The A330-300, which entered service in 1993, was developed as replacement for the A300. It is based on a stretched A300-600 fuselage but with new wings, stabilisers and fly-by-wire systems.
The A330-300 carries 295 passengers in a three-class cabin layout (335 in 2 class and 440 in single class layout) over a range of 10,500 km (5,650 nautical miles). It has a large cargo capacity, comparable to early Boeing 747s
A340[]
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engined wide-body commercial passenger airliner manufactured by Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It seats between 261 and 380 passengers, and has a range between 6,700 and 9,000 NM (12400 to 16600 km). It is similar in design to the twin-engined A330. Initial A340 versions share the fuselage and wing of the A330 while later models are longer and have larger wings.
A350[]
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, mid-size, wide-body family of airliners currently under development by European manufacturing group Airbus. The A350 will be the first Airbus with fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. The A350 is designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 787, and Airbus claims that it will be more fuel-efficient and with up to 8% lower operating cost than the Boeing 787.
A380[]
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. The largest passenger airliner in the world, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France,[3] and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it.