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96-595: The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft , designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie GIE, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers . Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300 , the first twin-jet wide-body. On 7 July 1978, the A310 (initially the A300B10) was launched with orders from Swissair and Lufthansa . On 3 April 1982, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight , and

192-677: A type certificate for a new design of aircraft. These requirements are published by major national airworthiness authorities including the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency . Airports may also impose limits on aircraft, for instance, the maximum wingspan allowed for a conventional aircraft is 80 metres (260 ft) to prevent collisions between aircraft while taxiing. Budget limitations, market requirements and competition set constraints on

288-527: A comparatively large wing and oversized undercarriage ; such an arrangement would have, amongst other things, made the aircraft consume an unnecessarily larger amount of fuel as it carried heavier weight than what was otherwise required. Another problem for the programme was presented in the form of inflation , the rate of which in the United Kingdom (one of the early members of the Airbus consortium)

384-412: A family of planes… we won over customers we wouldn't otherwise have won… now we had two planes that had a great deal in common as far as systems and cockpits were concerned." Jean Roeder, chief engineer of Airbus , speaking of the A310. In order to minimise the associated research and development costs for the tentative project, Airbus chose to examine several early design studies performed during

480-626: A fan diameter of 290 centimetres (116 in), slightly smaller than the GE90 engines on the Boeing 777. The Trent 900 is designed to fit into a Boeing 747-400F freighter for easier transport by air cargo . The interiors of aircraft, known as the aircraft cabin , have been undergoing evolution since the first passenger aircraft. Today, between one and four classes of travel are available on wide-body aircraft. Bar and lounge areas which were once installed on wide-body aircraft have mostly disappeared, but

576-575: A few have returned in first class or business class on the Airbus A340-600 , Boeing 777-300ER , and on the Airbus A380. Emirates has installed showers for first-class passengers on the A380; twenty-five minutes are allotted for use of the room, and the shower operates for a maximum of five minutes. Depending on how the airline configures the aircraft, the size and seat pitch of

672-558: A fleet of five Airbus CC-150 Polaris , civilian Airbus A310-300s, originally owned by Wardair , and subsequently Canadian Airlines International , after the airlines merged. The aircraft were then sold to the Canadian government , and have been converted for use as the primary long-distance transport aircraft as part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of Royal Canadian Air Force VIP aircraft . The Airbus A310

768-435: A large number of light aircraft are designed and built by amateur hobbyists and enthusiasts . In the early years of aircraft design, designers generally used analytical theory to do the various engineering calculations that go into the design process along with a lot of experimentation. These calculations were labour-intensive and time-consuming. In the 1940s, several engineers started looking for ways to automate and simplify

864-413: A mixture of analysis and testing and the detailed examination of the adequacy of every part of the structure. For some types of aircraft, the design process is regulated by civil airworthiness authorities . This article deals with powered aircraft such as airplanes and helicopter designs. The design process starts with the aircraft's intended purpose. Commercial airliners are designed for carrying

960-504: A month, announced that they would place the launch orders. On 15 March, Swissair became the first airline to place a firm order for the type, announcing that it would acquire ten aircraft, with a further ten under option, to replace its McDonnell Douglas DC-9s on its major intra-European routes. Lufthansa was quick to place a $ 240 million ten-aircraft order; additional orders from French operator Air France and Spanish airline Iberia shortly followed. Increasingly strong interest in

1056-496: A passenger or cargo payload, long range and greater fuel efficiency whereas fighter jets are designed to perform high speed maneuvers and provide close support to ground troops. Some aircraft have specific missions, for instance, amphibious airplanes have a unique design that allows them to operate from both land and water, some fighters, like the Harrier jump jet , have VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) ability, helicopters have

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1152-542: A result, on June 15, 1998 , the last delivery of an A310 (msn. 706, reg.UK-31003) was made to Uzbekistan Airways . The A310, along with its A300 stablemate, officially ceased production during July 2007 , though an order from Iraqi Airways for five A310s had remained on the books until July 2008 . The remaining freighter sales were to be instead fulfilled by the new A330-200F derivative. The A310 had been commonly marketed as an introduction to wide-body operations for airlines based in developing countries . The airliner

1248-602: A second aisle, the wider aircraft could accommodate as many as 10 seats across, but could also be easily converted to a freighter and carry two eight-by-eight freight pallets abreast. The engineers also opted for creating "stretched" versions of the DC-8 (61, 62 and 63 models), as well as longer versions of Boeing's 707 (-320B and 320C models) and 727 (-200 model); and Douglas' DC-9 (-30, -40, and -50 models), all of which were capable of accommodating more seats than their shorter predecessor versions. The wide-body age began in 1970 with

1344-504: A twinjet. Most modern wide-body aircraft have two engines, although the heaviest wide-body aircraft, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8, are built with four engines. The upcoming Boeing 777X-9 twinjet is approaching the capacity of the earlier Boeing 747. The Boeing 777 twinjet features the most powerful jet engine, the General Electric GE90 . The early variants have a fan diameter of 312 centimetres (123 in), and

1440-562: A typical narrow-body aircraft has a diameter of 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 ft), with a single aisle, and seats between two and six people abreast. Wide-body aircraft were originally designed for a combination of efficiency and passenger comfort and to increase the amount of cargo space. However, airlines quickly gave in to economic factors, and reduced the extra passenger space in order to insert more seats and increase revenue and profits. Wide-body aircraft are also used by commercial cargo airlines , along with other specialized uses. By

1536-527: A typical maximum of 200 passengers. The rear fuselage was heavily re-designed, featuring altered tapering , while involved a move aft of the rear bulkhead to create additional capacity; this same design change was later transferred back to later variants of the A300, such as the A300-600 and A330/A340 fuselages. The A310 also had a different emergency exit configuration, consisting of four main doors (two at

1632-424: Is a loosely defined method used to balance many competing and demanding requirements to produce an aircraft that is strong, lightweight, economical and can carry an adequate payload while being sufficiently reliable to safely fly for the design life of the aircraft. Similar to, but more exacting than, the usual engineering design process , the technique is highly iterative, involving high-level configuration tradeoffs,

1728-451: Is called design optimization. Fundamental aspects such as fuselage shape, wing configuration and location, engine size and type are all determined at this stage. Constraints to design like those mentioned above are all taken into account at this stage as well. The final product is a conceptual layout of the aircraft configuration on paper or computer screen, to be reviewed by engineers and other designers. The design configuration arrived at in

1824-509: Is derived from various factors such as empty weight, payload, useful load, etc. The various weights are used to then calculate the center of mass of the entire aircraft. The center of mass must fit within the established limits set by the manufacturer. The aircraft structure focuses not only on strength, aeroelasticity , durability , damage tolerance , stability , but also on fail-safety , corrosion resistance, maintainability and ease of manufacturing. The structure must be able to withstand

1920-476: The 7N7 and 7X7 , which would develop into the 757 and 767 , the latter of which being an intended rival to the upcoming A310, as well as the existing Boeing 747 . Independent of the British government, BAe commenced its own dialogue between itself and American aircraft manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas , for the purpose of assessing if BAe could participate in any of their future programmes, although

2016-479: The Airbus A300 . The A300 was a wide-body medium-to-long range passenger airliner; it holds the distinction of being the first twin-engine wide-body aircraft in the world. The design was relatively revolutionary for its time, and featured a number of industry firsts, making the first use of composite materials on a commercial aircraft; during 1977, the A300 became the first ETOPS -compliant aircraft, which

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2112-599: The Boeing 767 -200, introduced six months before. Its longer range and ETOPS regulations allowed it to be operated on transatlantic flights . Until the last delivery in June 1998 , 255 aircraft were produced, as it was succeeded by the larger Airbus A330 -200. It was available as a cargo aircraft version, and was also developed into a military variant , the A310 MRTT multi-role transport, then tanker. On 26 September 1967,

2208-784: The Boeing 787 and the Lockheed Martin F-35 have proven far more costly and complex to develop than expected. More advanced and integrated design tools have been developed. Model-based systems engineering predicts potentially problematic interactions, while computational analysis and optimization allows designers to explore more options early in the process. Increasing automation in engineering and manufacturing allows faster and cheaper development. Technology advances from materials to manufacturing enable more complex design variations like multifunction parts. Once impossible to design or construct, these can now be 3D printed , but they have yet to prove their utility in applications like

2304-673: The Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB . The proposed Comac C929 and C939 may also share this new wide-body market. The production of the large Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380 four-engine, long-haul jets has come to an end as airlines are now preferring the smaller, more efficient Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 twin-engine, long-range airliners. Although wide-body aircraft have larger frontal areas (and thus greater form drag ) than narrow-body aircraft of similar capacity, they have several advantages over their narrow-body counterparts, such as: British and Russian designers had proposed wide-body aircraft similar in configuration to

2400-582: The British government chose to withdraw from the newly formed venture during 1969 . In 1977 , HSA subsequently merged with three other British aircraft companies, resulting in the formation of British Aerospace (BAe). By this point in time, the British government had publicly indicated its intentions to rejoin the Airbus programme. In May 1976, the French government entered into a series of discussions on cooperation, during which its representatives stated that

2496-677: The General Electric CF6 -45B2 and Pratt & Whitney JT9D -7R4. At one point, British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce was openly considering offering an engine for the A310, the Rolls-Royce RB.207 , however, it ultimately chose to discard such efforts in favour of a smaller three-spool design, the RB.211. The range of the A310 exceeds that of the A300 series, with the exception of the A300-600R, which in turn surpasses that of

2592-572: The Northrop Grumman B-21 or the re-engined A320neo and 737 MAX . Airbus and Boeing also recognize the economic limits, that the next airliner generation cannot cost more than the previous ones did. An increase in the number of aircraft also means greater carbon emissions. Environmental scientists have voiced concern over the main kinds of pollution associated with aircraft, mainly noise and emissions. Aircraft engines have been historically notorious for creating noise pollution and

2688-727: The President of the United States . Some wide-body aircraft have been modified to enable transport of oversize cargo . Examples include the Airbus Beluga , Airbus BelugaXL and Boeing Dreamlifter . Two specially modified Boeing 747s were used to transport the U.S. Space Shuttle , while the Antonov An-225 was initially built to carry the Buran shuttle . Aircraft design process The aircraft design process

2784-743: The United States , it is a requirement to suffix the aircraft's call sign with the word heavy (or super ) when communicating with air traffic control in certain areas. Wide-body aircraft are used in science, research, and the military. Some wide-body aircraft are used as flying command posts by the military like the Ilyushin Il-80 or the Boeing E-4 , while the Boeing E-767 is used for airborne early warning and control . New military weapons are tested aboard wide-bodies, as in

2880-567: The Vickers VC10 and Douglas DC-9 , but with a wide-body fuselage. The British BAC Three-Eleven project did not proceed due to lack of government backing, while the Russian Ilyushin Il-86 wide-body proposal eventually gave way to a more conventional wing-mounted engine design, most likely due to the inefficiencies of mounting such large engines on the aft fuselage. As jet engine power and reliability have increased over

2976-411: The airline seats will vary significantly. For example, aircraft scheduled for shorter flights are often configured at a higher seat density than long-haul aircraft. Due to current economic pressures on the airline industry, high seating densities in the economy class cabin are likely to continue. In some of the largest single-deck wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, the extra space above

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3072-561: The wake turbulence they produce. Because wake turbulence is generally related to the weight of an aircraft, these categories are based on one of four weight categories: light, medium, heavy, and super. Due to their weight, all current wide-body aircraft are categorized as " heavy ", or in the case of the A380 in U.S. airspace, "super". The wake-turbulence category also is used to guide the separation of aircraft. Super- and heavy-category aircraft require greater separation behind them than those in other categories. In some countries, such as

3168-499: The 1960s, it was also believed that supersonic airliners would succeed larger, slower planes. Thus, it was believed that most subsonic aircraft would become obsolete for passenger travel and would be eventually converted to freighters. As a result, airline manufacturers opted for a wider fuselage rather than a taller one (the 747 , and eventually the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ). By adding

3264-406: The 707 and DC-8 seated passengers along either side of a single aisle, with no more than six seats per row. Larger aircraft would have to be longer, higher ( double-deck aircraft ), or wider in order to accommodate a greater number of passenger seats. Engineers realized having two decks created difficulties in meeting emergency evacuation regulations with the technology available at that time. During

3360-468: The A300 programme. The company ultimately chose to prioritise its focus on one option, which became known as the A300B10MC (standing for M inimum C hange). As envisioned, the airliner's capacity was reduced to a maximum of 220 passengers, which was viewed at the time as being a desired capacity amongst many airlines. However, such a design would have resulted in a relatively small fuselage being mated to

3456-443: The A300. The A310 is available in two basic versions, the medium range −200 and the longer range −300. The first version of the aircraft to be developed was the −200, but this was later joined by the −300, which then became the standard production version of the aircraft. The short range −100 variant was never developed due to low demand. As of August 2024, there were 33 A310 family aircraft in service. As of March 2023,

3552-417: The A300; the landing gear were outfitted with carbon brakes , which were fitted as standard. The structure of the airliner featured a high level of composite materials throughout both primary and secondary structures, increased beyond that of the earlier A300. The A310 is outfitted with integrated drive electrical generators along with auxiliary power unit , which were improved versions of those used on

3648-463: The A310 had been planned by Airbus; the regional A310-100, and the transcontinental A310-200. The A310-100 featured a range of 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) with 200 passengers, whilst the A310-200 possessed a higher MTOW and centre section fuel, being able to carry the same load a further 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi). Basic engines offered for the type included

3744-405: The A310 received its type certificate on 11 March 1983. Keeping the same eight-abreast cross-section, the A310 is 6.95  m (22.8  ft ) shorter than the initial A300 variants, and has a smaller wing, down from 260 to 219  m (2,800 to 2,360  sq ft ). The A310 introduced a two-crew glass cockpit , later adopted for the A300-600 with a common type rating . It was powered by

3840-438: The A310-200. The greater range of the A310 contributed to the airliner being used extensively by operators on transatlantic routes. The A300 and A310 introduced the concept of commonality : A300-600 and A310 pilots can cross-qualify for the other aircraft with one day of training. Sales of the A310 continued through the early 1980s. On 3 April 1982, the prototype A310-200 airliner conducted its maiden flight ; by this point,

3936-498: The Boeing 747 was not surpassed until October 2007, when the Airbus A380 entered commercial service with the nickname "Superjumbo". Both the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 "jumbo jets" have four engines each (quad-jets), but the upcoming Boeing 777X ("mini jumbo jet") is a twinjet. In the mid-2000s, rising oil costs in a post- 9/11 climate caused airlines to look towards newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Two such examples are

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4032-486: The British efforts, French aerospace firm Aérospatiale , German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), and Dutch-German joint venture company VFW-Fokker were also conducting their individual studies into possible options for the wing of the prospective airliner. At the April 1978 Hanover Air Show , Airbus exhibited a model of the proposed A310. Its wing area, at 219.25  m (2,360.0  sq ft )

4128-590: The DC-10-based Tanker 910 and the 747-200 -based Evergreen Supertanker . Some wide-body aircraft are used as VIP transport. To transport those holding the highest offices, Canada uses the Airbus A310 , while Russia uses the Ilyushin Il-96 . Germany replaced its Airbus A310 with an Airbus A340 in spring 2011. Specially-modified Boeing 747-200s ( Boeing VC-25s ) are used to transport

4224-426: The ability to hover over an area for a period of time. The purpose may be to fit a specific requirement, e.g. as in the historical case of a British Air Ministry specification , or fill a perceived "gap in the market"; that is, a class or design of aircraft which does not yet exist, but for which there would be significant demand. Another important factor that influences the design are the requirements for obtaining

4320-662: The aircraft to Aeroflot. However, in 1976 the Soviet Union launched its own first four-engined wide-body, the Ilyushin Il-86 . After the success of the early wide-body aircraft, several subsequent designs came to market over the next two decades, including the Boeing 767 and 777 , the Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 , and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 . In the "jumbo" category, the capacity of

4416-448: The aircraft. The aviation operators include the passenger and cargo airliners , air forces and owners of private aircraft. They agree to comply with the regulations set by the regulatory bodies, understand the limitations of the aircraft as specified by the manufacturer, report defects and assist the manufacturers in keeping up the airworthiness standards. Most of the design criticisms these days are built on crashworthiness . Even with

4512-511: The airliner's tail unit, such as the adoption of smaller horizontal tail surfaces. The A310 was furnished with a two-crew glass cockpit configuration as standard, removing the requirement for a flight engineer ; Airbus referred to this concept as the Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit . The company had developed the cockpit to significantly enhance the aircraft's man-machine interface, thereby improving operational safety. It

4608-417: The cabin is used for crew rest areas and galley storage. The term "jumbo jet" usually refers to the largest variants of wide-body airliners; examples include the Boeing 747 (the first wide-body and original "jumbo jet"), Airbus A380 ("superjumbo jet"), and Boeing 777-9 . The phrase "jumbo jet" derives from Jumbo , a circus elephant in the 19th century. Aircraft are categorized by ICAO according to

4704-402: The calculation process and many relations and semi-empirical formulas were developed. Even after simplification, the calculations continued to be extensive. With the invention of the computer, engineers realized that a majority of the calculations could be automated, but the lack of design visualization and the huge amount of experimentation involved kept the field of aircraft design stagnant. With

4800-665: The company's chairman, Lord Beswick , publicly stated that the overall aim of the firm was to pursue collaboration in Europe. At the 1978 Farnborough Air Show , Eric Varley , the British Secretary of State for Industry , announced that BAe was to rejoin Airbus Industrie and participate as a full partner from 1 January 1979 onwards. Under the negotiated arrangement, BAe would be allocated a 20 per cent shareholding in Airbus Industrie, and would perform "a full part in

4896-421: The conceptual design phase is then tweaked and remodeled to fit into the design parameters. In this phase, wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamic calculations of the flow field around the aircraft are done. Major structural and control analysis is also carried out in this phase. Aerodynamic flaws and structural instabilities if any are corrected and the final design is drawn and finalized. Then after

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4992-453: The constraints on their design. Historically design teams used to be small, usually headed by a Chief Designer who knows all the design requirements and objectives and coordinated the team accordingly. As time progressed, the complexity of military and airline aircraft also grew. Modern military and airline design projects are of such a large scale that every design aspect is tackled by different teams and then brought together. In general aviation

5088-407: The core, then the engines may be shipped on a Boeing 747 Freighter. The General Electric GE9X , powering the Boeing 777X, is wider than the GE90 by 15 centimetres (6 in). The 560 tonnes (1,230,000 lb) maximum takeoff weight of the Airbus A380 would not have been possible without the engine technology developed for the Boeing 777 such as contra-rotating spools. Its Trent 900 engine has

5184-613: The design mission. The wing of a fixed-wing aircraft provides the lift necessary for flight. Wing geometry affects every aspect of an aircraft's flight. The wing area will usually be dictated by the desired stalling speed but the overall shape of the planform and other detail aspects may be influenced by wing layout factors. The wing can be mounted to the fuselage in high, low and middle positions. The wing design depends on many parameters such as selection of aspect ratio , taper ratio, sweepback angle, thickness ratio, section profile, washout and dihedral . The cross-sectional shape of

5280-401: The design process and comprise the non-technical influences on aircraft design along with environmental factors. Competition leads to companies striving for better efficiency in the design without compromising performance and incorporating new techniques and technology. In the 1950s and '60s, unattainable project goals were regularly set, but then abandoned, whereas today troubled programs like

5376-510: The development and manufacturing of the A310". From late 1977, prior to the Varley announcement, BAe had already commenced work on the design of the new wing at its facility in Hatfield . However, due to negotiations with Britain on its return to the Airbus consortium being protracted, alternative options were explored, including potentially manufacturing the wing elsewhere. At the same time as

5472-677: The development phase. Examples of this include the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a delay of 4 years with massive cost overruns, the Boeing 747-8 with a two-year delay, the Airbus A380 with a two-year delay and US$ 6.1 billion in cost overruns, the Airbus A350 with delays and cost overruns, the Bombardier C Series , Global 7000 and 8000, the Comac C919 with a four-year delay and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet , which

5568-475: The end of 2017, nearly 8,800 wide-body airplanes had been delivered since 1969, with production peaking at 412 in 2015. Following the success of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, airlines began seeking larger aircraft to meet the rising global demand for air travel. Engineers were faced with many challenges as airlines demanded more passenger seats per aircraft, longer ranges and lower operating costs. Early jet aircraft such as

5664-542: The engine must balance the drag at cruise speed and be greater than the drag to allow acceleration. The engine requirement varies with the type of aircraft. For instance, commercial airliners spend more time in cruise speed and need more engine efficiency. High-performance fighter jets need very high acceleration and therefore have very high thrust requirements. The weight of the aircraft is the common factor that links all aspects of aircraft design such as aerodynamics, structure, and propulsion, all together. An aircraft's weight

5760-622: The entry into service of the first wide-body airliner, the four-engined, partial double-deck Boeing 747 . New trijet wide-body aircraft soon followed, including the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the L-1011 TriStar. The first wide-body twinjet , the Airbus A300 , entered service in 1974. This period came to be known as the "wide-body wars". L-1011 TriStars were demonstrated in the USSR in 1974, as Lockheed sought to sell

5856-433: The event of loss of cabin pressure, lockable luggage compartments, safety belts, lifejackets, emergency doors and luminous floor strips. Aircraft are sometimes designed with emergency water landing in mind, for instance the Airbus A330 has a 'ditching' switch that closes valves and openings beneath the aircraft slowing the ingress of water. Aircraft designers normally rough-out the initial design with consideration of all

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5952-536: The expansion of airways over already congested and polluted cities have drawn heavy criticism, making it necessary to have environmental policies for aircraft noise. Noise also arises from the airframe, where the airflow directions are changed. Improved noise regulations have forced designers to create quieter engines and airframes. Emissions from aircraft include particulates, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), various oxides of nitrates and unburnt hydrocarbons . To combat

6048-472: The expense of higher seat-distance cost (specifically Swissair and Lufthansa ). At the same time, there was great pressure for Airbus to validate itself beyond the design and manufacture of a single airliner. In response to these desires, Airbus explored the options for producing a smaller derivative of the A300B2. "We showed the world we were not sitting on a nine-day wonder, and that we wanted to realise

6144-439: The finalization of the design lies the key decision with the manufacturer or individual designing it whether to actually go ahead with the production of the aircraft. At this point several designs, though perfectly capable of flight and performance, might have been opted out of production due to their being economically nonviable. This phase simply deals with the fabrication aspect of the aircraft to be manufactured. It determines

6240-573: The following airlines are the known remaining civilian operators of A310 aircraft: The A310 is also used by the armed forces of the following countries: By the end of production, a total of 255 A310s had been ordered and delivered. As of September 2015 there have been 12 hull-loss accidents involving A310s with a total of 825 fatalities; and 9 hijackings with a total of five fatalities. Seven aircraft were preserved Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Wide-body aircraft By comparison,

6336-433: The front and two at the rear of the aircraft), and two smaller doors over the wings. The wing of the A310 was redesigned, possessing a reduced span and wing area, and incorporating simpler single-slotted Fowler flaps designed by British Aerospace shortly following its decision to join the Airbus consortium. Other changes to the wing included the elimination of the outer ailerons , which were occasionally referred to by

6432-486: The governments of France, West Germany and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding to commence the joint development of the 300-seat Airbus A300 . The French and West Germans reached a firm agreement on 29 May 1969, after the British withdrew from the project on 10 April 1969. This collaborative effort between the two states resulted in the production of the consortium's first airliner , known as

6528-420: The greatest attention to airworthiness, accidents still occur. Crashworthiness is the qualitative evaluation of how aircraft survive an accident. The main objective is to protect the passengers or valuable cargo from the damage caused by an accident. In the case of airliners the stressed skin of the pressurized fuselage provides this feature, but in the event of a nose or tail impact, large bending moments build all

6624-509: The lack of demand for the A310-100, Airbus decided to stop offering the lower gross weight model which had been originally proposed for Lufthansa; as a consequence, none of this variant were ultimately manufactured. During the early 1990s, demand for the aircraft began to slacken; there were no new A310 passenger orders placed during the late 1990s, in part due to the introduction of the newer and more advanced Airbus A330 during this time. As

6720-463: The larger GE90-115B has a fan diameter of 325 centimetres (128 in). This is almost as wide as the 3.30 metres (130 in) Fokker 100 fuselage. Complete GE90 engines can only be ferried by outsize cargo aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 , presenting logistics problems if a 777 is stranded in a place due to emergency diversions without the proper spare parts. If the fan is removed from

6816-475: The laser weapons testing on the Boeing YAL-1 . Other wide-body aircraft are used as flying research stations, such as the joint German–U.S. Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Airbus A340, Airbus A380, and Boeing 747 four-engine wide-body aircraft are used to test new generations of aircraft engines in flight. A few aircraft have also been converted for aerial firefighting , such as

6912-493: The last decades, most of the wide-body aircraft built today have only two engines. A twinjet design is more fuel-efficient than a trijet or quadjet of similar size. The increased reliability of modern jet engines also allows aircraft to meet the ETOPS certification standard, which calculates reasonable safety margins for flights across oceans. The trijet design was dismissed due to higher maintenance and fuel costs compared to

7008-501: The manufacturer as being "low speed ailerons", and the addition of electrically actuated spoilers . The wing also featured common pylons, which were able to support all types of engines that were offered to customers to power the airliner. From 1985 onwards, the A310-300 introduced wingtip fences which reduced vortex drag and thus improved cruise fuel consumption by over 1.5%. A limited number of alterations were also performed to

7104-570: The many hazards that pose a threat to air travel. Airworthiness is the standard by which aircraft are determined fit to fly. The responsibility for airworthiness lies with the national civil aviation regulatory bodies, manufacturers , as well as owners and operators. The International Civil Aviation Organization sets international standards and recommended practices on which national authorities should base their regulations. The national regulatory authorities set standards for airworthiness, issue certificates to manufacturers and operators and

7200-420: The number, design and location of ribs , spars , sections and other structural elements. All aerodynamic, structural, propulsion, control and performance aspects have already been covered in the preliminary design phase and only the manufacturing remains. Flight simulators for aircraft are also developed at this stage. Some commercial aircraft have experienced significant schedule delays and cost overruns in

7296-576: The placing of an order by British Airways (BA) was a condition for the re-admission of the United Kingdom into Airbus Industrie as a full partner. However, both BA and Rolls-Royce had not relinquished their will to collaborate with the Americans in future aircraft endeavours and, in BA's case, procure American aircraft. During the late 1970s, BA sought to purchase two separate types of aircraft in development by American company Boeing , initially known as

7392-469: The pollution, ICAO set recommendations in 1981 to control aircraft emissions. Newer, environmentally friendly fuels have been developed and the use of recyclable materials in manufacturing have helped reduce the ecological impact due to aircraft. Environmental limitations also affect airfield compatibility. Airports around the world have been built to suit the topography of the particular region. Space limitations, pavement design, runway end safety areas and

7488-521: The rise of programming languages, engineers could now write programs that were tailored to design an aircraft. Originally this was done with mainframe computers and used low-level programming languages that required the user to be fluent in the language and know the architecture of the computer. With the introduction of personal computers, design programs began employing a more user-friendly approach. The main aspects of aircraft design are: All aircraft designs involve compromises of these factors to achieve

7584-415: The same General Electric CF6 -80 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D then PW4000 turbofan jet engines . It can seat 220 passengers in two classes, or 240 in all-economy, and has a flying range up to 5,150 nautical miles (9,540 km; 5,930 mi). It has overwing exits between the two main front and rear door pairs. In April 1983 , the aircraft entered revenue service with Swissair , and competed with

7680-604: The standards of personnel training. Every country has its own regulatory body such as the Federal Aviation Administration in USA, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) in India, etc. The aircraft manufacturer makes sure that the aircraft meets existing design standards, defines the operating limitations and maintenance schedules and provides support and maintenance throughout the operational life of

7776-550: The stresses caused by cabin pressurization , if fitted, turbulence and engine or rotor vibrations. The design of any aircraft starts out in three phases Aircraft conceptual design involves sketching a variety of possible configurations that meet the required design specifications. By drawing a set of configurations, designers seek to reach the design configuration that satisfactorily meets all requirements as well as go hand in hand with factors such as aerodynamics, propulsion, flight performance, structural and control systems. This

7872-429: The tentative airliner, coupled with the recovery of the industry during the late 1970s, contributed to Airbus deciding to put the A310 into production on 7 July 1978. During the latter half of 1978 , an order for ten A300s was placed by independent British airline Laker Airways , satisfying Airbus's demand for the placing of a British order for their aircraft. On 1 April 1979, Lufthansa decided to raise its commitment for

7968-621: The two types, and enabled a dual type rating to be achieved, this same approach was later used on many future Airbus aircraft. In addition to the two flying crew, provisions for third and fourth crew seats were present within the flight deck. The A310 was initially proposed with a choice of three engines: the General Electric CF6-80A1, the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D1, and the Rolls-Royce RB211-524. The A310

8064-407: The type had accumulated a combined orders and options for 181 aircraft, which had been placed by fifteen airlines worldwide, which was a better start than the original A300. The launch customer of A310, Swissair, became the launch operator in April 1983. Over time, it had become clear that the longer-range series −200 aircraft was the more popular of the two models on offer. During 1979, in response to

8160-416: The type to 25 aircraft, along with 25 options. Two days later, Dutch operator KLM signed its order for ten aircraft and ten options at £ 238 million. On 6 July 1979, Air France announced that it had raised its order from four to thirty-five airliners. Other airlines announcing orders for the A310 during 1979 included Martinair , Sabena , and Air Afrique . Initially, a pair of distinct versions of

8256-550: The unique location of airport are some of the airport factors that influence aircraft design. However changes in aircraft design also influence airfield design as well, for instance, the recent introduction of new large aircraft (NLAs) such as the superjumbo Airbus A380 , have led to airports worldwide redesigning their facilities to accommodate its large size and service requirements. The high speeds, fuel tanks, atmospheric conditions at cruise altitudes, natural hazards (thunderstorms, hail and bird strikes) and human error are some of

8352-417: The way through the fuselage, causing fractures in the shell, causing the fuselage to break up into smaller sections. So the passenger aircraft are designed in such a way that seating arrangements are away from areas likely to be intruded in an accident, such as near a propeller, engine nacelle undercarriage etc. The interior of the cabin is also fitted with safety features such as oxygen masks that drop down in

8448-650: The wing is its airfoil . The construction of the wing starts with the rib which defines the airfoil shape. Ribs can be made of wood, metal, plastic or even composites. The wing must be designed and tested to ensure it can withstand the maximum loads imposed by maneuvering, and by atmospheric gusts. The fuselage is the part of the aircraft that contains the cockpit , passenger cabin or cargo hold. Aircraft propulsion may be achieved by specially designed aircraft engines, adapted auto, motorcycle or snowmobile engines, electric engines or even human muscle power. The main parameters of engine design are: The thrust provided by

8544-476: Was a medium- to long-range twin-engined wide-body jet airliner . Initially a derivative of the A300, the aircraft had originally been designated the A300B10 . It was essentially a shortened variant of the earlier aircraft; however, there were considerable differences between the two aircraft. Specifically, the fuselage possessed the same cross-section, but being shorter than the A300, it provided capacity for

8640-415: Was around 35 per cent during 1979–80. This factor was responsible for significantly raising the program's development costs and, as a knock-on effect, increase the per-unit cost of the resulting airliner. During the development of the A300, British manufacturer Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA) had been appointed as the subcontractor to perform the manufacturing of the wing of the aircraft; shortly afterwards,

8736-492: Was launched with the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D1 or the General Electric CF6-80A3. Subsequently available were the 53,500  lbf (238  kN ) CF6-80C2A2 or the 52,000  lbf (230  kN )PW4152. From late 1991 the higher thrust 59,000 lbf (260 kN) CF6-80C2A8 or 56,000 lbf (250 kN)PW4156A became available. The A310 was equipped with a modified undercarriage , derived from

8832-418: Was made possible due to its high performance and safety standards. The A300 would be produced in a range of models, and sold relatively well to airlines across the world, eventually reaching a total of 816 delivered aircraft during its production life. During the development of the earlier A300, a range of different aircraft size and capacity were studied by the consortium; the resulting Airbus A300B proposal

8928-530: Was one of the smaller options. When the A300B1 prototypes emerged, a number of airlines issued requests for an aircraft with greater capacity, which resulted in the initial production A300B2 version. As the A300 entered service, it became increasingly apparent that there was also a sizeable market for a smaller aircraft; some operators did not have enough traffic to justify the relatively large A300, while others wanted more frequency or lower aircraft-distance costs at

9024-440: Was outfitted with an array of six computer-based cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays to provide the flight crew with centralised navigational, warning, monitoring, and general flight information, in place of the more traditional analogue instrumentation and dials, which were used in conjunction with a range of modern electronic systems. The same flight deck was incorporated into the A300-600, a move which increased commonality between

9120-638: Was replaced in Airbus' range by the highly successful A330-200 , which shares its fuselage cross-section. Between 1983 , and the last aircraft produced in 1998, 255 A310s were delivered. 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. As of July 2017, thirty-seven A310s remain in commercial service; major operators are Air Transat and Mahan Air with nine aircraft each; Fedex Express (six), and seven other airlines operating thirteen aircraft between them. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) currently operates

9216-402: Was slightly larger than that studied, at 209 m (2,250 sq ft); its passenger cabin was twelve frames shorter than the A300, accommodating typical passenger loads of 195 in two-class, or 245 in all-economy. However, during the next twelve months, almost every aspect was further refined. On 9 June 1978, Swissair and Lufthansa developed a joint specification for the aircraft, and within

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