Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 is a twin-engined 150-seat narrowbody airliner intended for short and medium range flights. So far it is the best-selling model of Airbus, with around 3500 aircraft sold (early 2008).
The A320 is the third Airbus type, after the A300 and A310 and the first Airbus narrowbody (cabin with one aisle). The aircraft was intended as a replacement for the Boeing 727 and early versions of the Boeing 737. The A320 is more economical, about 50 per cent less fuel thirsty than the 727 and less noisy.
The A320 is the first airliner with a fly-by-wire flight control system (pilot commands are transmitted to the flying surfaces by electronic signals and not any more by mechanical systems). Flight data and other information are presented to the pilots on six colour displays and instead of a conventional control column, there are so-called 'sidesticks' in the cockpit. This system saves weight and another advantage is that the computers have built-in safety limits which make it impossible for pilots to exceed certain flight parameters like maximum and minimum speeds and maximum angle of attack. The Airbus A320 is available with two different engines: the CFM56 and IAE V2500. Possibly in the future the A320 can be delivered with the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF), which will have a lower fuel burn than today's engines.
The A320 made its maiden flight on February 22 1987 and launch customer Air France introduced the type in service in March 1988. There are two main versions: the A320-100, of which only a small number has been built, and the A320-200 with higher weights, more range and winglets at the wing tips. Final assembly takes place in Toulouse. The A320 was the first model of a family of airliners. Other members are the stretched A321 and the shortened A319 and A318.
Together with the Russian aircraft industry Airbus is setting up a conversion program to install a big cargo door on the maindeck of existing Airbus A320 aircraft. Airbus has experimented with new larger winglets on the A320, but these are still not introduced on production and in-service aircraft.
Airbus A320-200 - Specifications
Wingspan: 34.10 m (111ft 10in>. Length: 37.57 m (123ft 3in). Height: 11.76 m. (38ft 7in).
Empty weight: 42,400 kg. (93,500 lb). Max. take-off weight: 73,500 kg (162,000 lb).
Accommodation: 150-180 passengers.
Range: 4,800-5,700 km (2,600-3,000 nm). Max. cruise speed: Mach 0.82.
Engines: CFMI CFM56-5B or IAE V2500-A5 (111-120 kN, 22,000-27,000 lb).
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