Airbus A300

A300
A FedEx Airbus A300 with condensation in both intakes, with its gear retracting.
An Airbus A300 operated by FedEx
Role Wide-body jet airliner
National origin Multi-national
Manufacturer Airbus
First flight 28 October 1972 (28 October 1972)
Introduction 30 May 1974 with Air France
Status In service
Primary users FedEx Express
UPS Airlines
European Air Transport Leipzig
Mahan Air
Produced 1971–2007
Number built 561[1]
Variants A300-600ST Beluga
Airbus A310
Developed into Airbus A330
Airbus A340

The Airbus A300 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner that was developed and manufactured by Airbus. Formally announced in 1969 and first flying in October 1972, it holds the distinction of being the world's first twin-engined widebody airliner; it was also the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, now a subsidiary of Airbus. The A300 can typically seat 266 passengers in a two-class layout, with a maximum range of 4,070 nautical miles (7,540 km) when fully loaded, depending on model.

Development of the A300 began during the 1960s as a European collaborative project between various aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany. In September 1967, the participating nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to manufacture the aircraft. The British withdrew from the project on 10 April 1969. A new agreement was reached between Germany and France on 29 May 1969, and Airbus Industrie was formally created on 18 December 1970 to develop and produce the A300. The type first flew on 28 October 1972.

Air France, the launch customer for the A300, introduced the type into service on 30 May 1974. Following a period of limited customer demand, the A300 achieved several large sales in 1978, after which the type was viewed to have proven itself and orders came in at a steady rate across the next three decades. During the 1990s, the A300 became popular with various freight operators, and several different cargo aircraft variants were produced. Production of the A300 ceased in July 2007, along with its smaller A310 derivative. The freighter sales for which the A300 had previously competed in later life are instead fulfilled by the A330-200F, a derivative of the newer Airbus A330.[2]

Development

Origins

During the 1960s, European aircraft manufacturers such as Hawker Siddeley and the British Aircraft Corporation, based in the UK, and Sud Aviation of France, had ambitions to build a new 200-seat airliner for the growing civil aviation market. While studies were performed and considered, such as a stretched twin-engine of the Hawker Siddeley Trident and an expanded development of the British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven, designated the BAC Two-Eleven and BAC Three-Eleven, it was recognized that if each of the European manufacturers were to launch quite similar aircraft onto the market at the same time, none of them would achieve the volume sales needed to make them viable.[3] In 1965, a government study, known as the Plowden Report, had found British aircraft production costs to between 10 and 20 per cent higher than American counterparts due to shorter production runs, which in turn was due to the fractured European market. To overcome this factor, the report recommended the pursuit of multinational collaborative projects between the region's leading aircraft manufacturers.[4][5][6]

European manufacturers were keen to explore prospective programs; the proposed 260-seat wide-body HBN 100 between Hawker Siddeley, Nord Aviation, and Breguet Aviation being one such example.[3][7] National governments were also keen to support such efforts amid a belief that American manufacturers could dominate the European Economic Community;[8] in particular, Germany had ambitions for a multinational airliner project to invigorate its aircraft industry, which had declined considerably following the Second World War.[9] During the mid-1960s, both Air France and American Airlines had expressed interest in a twin-engine wide-body aircraft, indicating a market demand for such an aircraft to be produced.[4][10] In July 1967, during a high-profile meeting between French, German, and British ministers, an agreement was made for greater cooperation between European nations in the field of aviation technology, and "for the joint development and production of an airbus".[3][11] The word airbus at this point was a generic aviation term for a larger commercial aircraft, and was considered acceptable in multiple languages, including French.[11]

Shortly after the July 1967 meeting, French engineer Roger Béteille was appointed as the technical director of what would become the A300 program, while Henri Ziegler, chief operating office of Sud Aviation, was appointed as the general manager of the organization and German politician Franz Josef Strauss became the chairman of the supervisory board.[3] Béteille drew up an initial work share plan for the project, under which French firms would produce the aircraft's cockpit, the control systems, and lower-center portion of the fuselage, Hawker Siddeley would manufacture the wings, while German companies would produce the forward, rear and upper part of the center fuselage sections. Addition work included moving elements of the wings being produced in the Netherlands, and Spain producing the horizontal tail plane.[3][12]

An early design goal for the A300 that Béteille had stressed the importance of was the incorporation of a high level of technology, which would serve as a decisive advantage over prospective competitors. As such, the A300 would feature the first use of composite materials of any passenger aircraft, the leading and trailing edges of the tail fin being composed of glass fibre reinforced plastic.[13][14] Béteille opted for English as the working language for the developing aircraft, as well against using Metric instrumentation and measurements, as most airlines already had US-built aircraft.[13] These decisions were partially influenced by feedback from various airlines, such as Air France and Lufthansa, as an emphasis had been placed on determining the specifics of what kind of aircraft that potential operators were seeking. According to Airbus, this cultural approach to market research had been crucial to the company's long term success.[13]

A Lufthansa A300B4-600R lands at Frankfurt Airport in 2003. Lufthansa retired its A300 fleet on 1 July 2009.

On 26 September 1967, the British, French, and West German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start development of the 300-seat Airbus A300.[12][15][16] At this point, the A300 was only the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe, the first being the Anglo-French Concorde.[17] Under the terms of the memorandum, Britain and France were each to receive a 37.5 per cent work share on the project, while Germany received a 25 per cent share. Sud Aviation was recognized as the lead company for A300, with Hawker Siddeley being selected as the British partner company.[3] At the time, the news of the announcement had been clouded by the British Government's support for the Airbus, which coincided with its refusal to back BAC's proposed competitor, the BAC 2-11, despite a preference for the latter expressed by British European Airways (BEA).[11] Another parameter was the requirement for a new engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce to power the proposed airliner; a derivative of the in-development Rolls-Royce RB211, the triple-spool RB207, capable of producing of 47,500 lbf.[18]

In December 1968, the French and British partner companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) proposed a revised configuration, the 250-seat Airbus A250. It had been feared that the original 300-seat proposal was too large for the market, thus it had been scaled down to produce the A250.[10][19][20] The dimensional changes involved in the shrink reduced the length of the fuselage by 5.62 meters and the diameter by 0.8 meters, reducing the overall weight by 25 tonnes.[13][21] For increased flexibility, the cabin floor was raised so that standard LD3 freight containers could be accommodated side-by-side, allowing more cargo to be carried. Refinements made by Hawker Siddeley to the wing's design provided for greater lift and overall performance; this gave the aircraft the ability to climb faster and attain a level cruising altitude sooner than any other passenger aircraft.[13] It was later renamed the A300B.[11][19]

Perhaps the most significant change of the A300B was that it would not require new engines to be developed, being of a suitable size to be powered by Rolls-Royce's RB211, or alternatively the American Pratt & Whitney JT9D and General Electric CF6 powerplants; this switch was recognized as considerably reducing the project's development costs.[19][22][23] To attract potential customers in the US market, it was decided that General Electric CF6-50 engines would power the A300 in place of the British RB207; these engines would be produced in co-operation with French firm Snecma.[10][13] By this time, Rolls-Royce had been concentrating their efforts upon developing their RB211 turbofan engine instead and progress on the RB207's development had been slow for some time, the firm having suffered due to funding limitations, both of which had been factors in the engine switch decision.[6][19][24]

On 10 April 1969, a few months after the decision to drop the RB207 had been announced, the British government announced that they would withdraw from the Airbus venture.[19][25] In response, West Germany proposed to France that they would be willing to contribute up to 50% of the project's costs if France was prepared to do the same.[19] Additionally, the managing director of Hawker Siddeley, Sir Arnold Alexander Hall, decided that his company would remain in the project as a favoured sub-contractor, developing and manufacturing the wings for the A300, which would later become pivotal in later versions' impressive performance from short domestic to long intercontinental flights.[6][11][26] Hawker Siddeley spent £35 million of its own funds, along with a further £35 million loan from the West German government, on the machine tooling to design and produce the wings.[19][27]

Project launch

An American Airlines A300B4-600R approaches Miami International Airport in 1993. On 29 August 2009, American Airlines retired all A300 aircraft.

On 29 May 1969, during the Paris Air Show, French transport minister Jean Chamant and German economics minister Karl Schiller signed an agreement officially launching the Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner.[3] The intention of the project was to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.[13] In order to meet Air France's demands for an aircraft larger than 250-seat A300B, it was decided to stretch the fuselage to create a new variant, designated as the A300B2, which would be offered alongside the original 250-seat A300B, henceforth referred to as the A300B1. On 3 September 1970, Air France signed a letter of intent for six A300s, marking the first order to be won for the new airliner.[13][27][28]

In the aftermath of the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, in order to provide effective management of responsibilities, a Groupement d'intérêt économique would be established, allowing the various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities.[3] On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between Aérospatiale (the newly merged Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation) of France and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace of Germany, each receiving a 50 per cent stake in the newly formed company.[13][27][29] In 1971, the consortium was joined by a third full partner, the Spanish firm CASA, who received a 4.2 per cent stake, the other two members reducing their stakes to 47.9 per cent each.[13][30] In 1979, Britain joined the Airbus consortium via British Aerospace, which Hawker Siddeley had merged into, which acquired a 20 per cent stake in Airbus Industrie with France and Germany each reducing their stakes to 37.9 per cent.[20][27][31]

Airbus Industrie was initially headquartered in Paris, which is where design, development, flight testing, sales, marketing, and customer support activities were centered; the headquarters was relocated to Toulouse in January 1974.[10][13] The final assembly line for the A300 was located adjacent to Toulouse Blagnac International Airport, the manufacturing process necessitated transporting each aircraft section being produced the partner companies scattered across Europe to this one location. The combined use of ferries and roads were used for the assembly of the first A300, however this was time-consuming and not viewed as ideal by Felix Kracht, Airbus Industrie's production director.[13] Kracht's solution was to have the various A300 sections brought to Toulouse by a fleet of Boeing 377-derived Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft, by which means none of the manufacturing sites were more than two hours away. Having the sections airlifted in this manner made the A300 the first airliner to use just-in-time manufacturing techniques, and allowed each company to manufacture its sections as fully equipped, ready-to-fly assemblies.[13][31]

In September 1969, construction of the first prototype A300 began.[30] On 28 September 1972, this first prototype was unveiled to the public, it conducted its maiden flight from Toulouse–Blagnac International Airport on 28 October that year.[11][27][32] This maiden flight, which was performed a month ahead of schedule, lasted for one hour and 25 minutes; the captain was Max Fischl and the first officer was Bernard Ziegler, son of Henri Ziegler.[13] On 5 February 1973, the second prototype performed its maiden flight.[27] The flight test program, which involved a total of four aircraft, was relatively problem-free, accumulating 1,580 flight hours throughout.[33] In September 1973, as part of promotional efforts for the A300, the new aircraft was taken on a six-week tour around North America and South America, to demonstrate it to airline executives, pilots, and would-be customers.[13] Amongst the consequences of this expedition, it had allegedly brought the A300 to the attention of Frank Borman of Eastern Airlines, one of the "big four" U.S. airlines.[34]

On 15 March 1974, type certificates were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service.[34] On 23 May 1974, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was received.[33] The first production model, the A300B2, entered service in 1974, followed by the A300B4 one year later.[10] Initially, the success of the consortium was poor, in part due to the economic consequences of the 1973 oil crisis,[10][11][35] but by 1979 there were 81 A300 passenger liners in service with 14 airlines, alongside 133 firm orders and 88 options.[34] Ten years after the official launch of the A300, the company had achieved a 26 per cent market share in terms of dollar value, enabling Airbus Industries to proceed with the development of its second aircraft, the Airbus A310.[34] It was the launch of the Airbus A320 in 1987 that firmly established Airbus as a major player in the aircraft market – over 400 orders were placed before the narrow-body airliner had flown its first flight, compared to 15 for the A300 in 1972.

Design

Airbus A300 fuselage cross-section, showing the passenger compartment above and the baggage area below. On display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.

The Airbus A300 is a wide-body medium-to-long range airliner; it has the distinction of being the first twin-engine wide-body aircraft in the world.[10][11][36][37] In 1977, the A300 became the first ETOPS-compliant aircraft, due to its high performance and safety standards.[35] Another world-first of the A300 is the use of composite materials on a commercial aircraft, which was used on both secondary and later primary airframe structures, decreasing overall weight and improving cost-effectiveness.[36] Other firsts included the pioneering use of center-of-gravity control, achieved by transferring fuel between various locations across the aircraft, and electrically signaled secondary flight controls.[38]

The A300 is powered by a pair of underwing turbofan engines, either General Electric CF6 and Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines; the sole use of underwing engine pods allowed for any suitable turbofan engine to be more readily used.[16] The lack of a third tail-mounted engine, as per the trijet configuration used by some competing airliners, allowed for the wings to be located further forwards and to reduce the size of the vertical stabilizer and elevator, which had the effect of increasing the aircraft's flight performance and fuel efficiency.[28][29]

Airbus partners had employed the latest technology, some of which having been derived from Concorde, on the A300. According to Airbus, new technologies adopted for the airliner were selected principally for increased safety, operational capability, and profitability.[36] Upon entry into service in 1974, the A300 was a very advanced plane, which went on to influence later airliner designs. The technological highlights include:

Cockpit view of an Iran Air Airbus A300B4-200, 2009

Later A300s incorporated other advanced features such as the Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit, which enabled a two-pilot flight crew to fly the aircraft alone without the need for a flight engineer, the functions of which were automated; this two-man cockpit concept was a world-first for a wide-body aircraft.[10][38][39] Glass cockpit flight instrumentation, which used cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors to display flight, navigation, and warning information, along with fully digital dual autopilots and digital flight control computers for controlling the spoilers, flaps, and leading-edge slats, were also adopted upon later-built models.[36][40] Additional composites were also made use of, such as carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), as well as their presence in an increasing proportion of the aircraft's components, including the spoilers, rudder, air brakes, and landing gear doors.[41] Another feature of later aircraft were the addition of wingtip fences, which generated greater aerodynamic performance (first introduced on the A310-300).

In addition to passenger duties, the A300 became widely used by air freight operators; according to Airbus, it is the best selling freight aircraft of all time.[38] Various variants of the A300 were built to meet customer demands, often for diverse roles such as aerial refueling tankers, freighter models (new-build and conversions), combi aircraft, military airlifter, and VIP transport. Perhaps the most visually unique of the variants is the A300-600ST Beluga, a oversize cargo-carrying model operated by Airbus to carry aircraft sections between their manufacturing facilities.[38] The A300 was the basis for, and retained a high level of commonality with, the second airliner produced by Airbus, the smaller Airbus A310.[36]

Operational history

Mahan Air Airbus A300B4-600 lands at Birmingham International Airport, England (2010)

On 23 May 1974, the first A300 to enter service performed the first commercial flight of the type, flying from Paris to London, for Air France.[27][34]

Immediately after the launch, sales of the A300 were weak for some years, with most orders going to airlines that had an obligation to favor the domestically made product – notably Air France and Lufthansa, the first two airlines to place orders for the type.[34][42] Following the appointment of Bernard Lathière as Henri Ziegler's replacement, an aggressive sales approach was adopted. Indian Airlines was the world's first domestic airline to purchase the A300, ordering three aircraft with three options. However, between December 1975 and May 1977, there were no sales for the type. During this period a number of "whitetail" A300s – completed but unsold aircraft – were completed and stored at Toulouse, and production fell to half an aircraft per month amid calls to pause production completely.[34]

During the flight testing of the A300B2, Airbus held a series of talks with Korean Air on the topic of developing a longer-range version of the A300, which would become the A300B4. In September 1974, Korean Air placed an order for 4 A300B4s with options for 2 further aircraft; this sale was viewed as significant as it was the first non-European international airline to order Airbus aircraft. Airbus had viewed South-East Asia as a vital market that was ready to be opened up and believed that Korean Air to be the 'key'.[10][34][43]

It was becoming clear that the whole concept of a short haul widebody was flawed. Airlines operating the A300 on short haul routes were forced to reduce frequencies to try and fill the aircraft. As a result, they lost passengers to airlines operating more frequent narrow body flights. The supposed widebody comfort which it was assumed passengers would demand was illusory. Eventually, Airbus had to build its own narrowbody aircraft (the A320) to compete with the Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80. The savior of the A300 was the advent of Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS), a revised FAA rule which allows twin-engine jets to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to them. This enabled Airbus to develop the aircraft as a medium/long range airliner.

In 1977, US carrier Eastern Air Lines leased four A300s as an in-service trial.[34] Frank Borman, ex-astronaut and the then CEO of the airline, was impressed that the A300 consumed 30% less fuel, even more economical than expected, in contrast to his fleet of Tristars and proceeded to order 23 A300s, becoming the first U.S. customer for the type (This order is often cited as the point at which Airbus came to be seen as a serious competitor to the large American aircraft-manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas).[10][34][35] Aviation author John Bowen alleged that various concessions, such as loan guarantees from European governments and compensation payments, were a factor in the decision as well.[44] The Eastern Air Lines breakthrough was shortly followed by an order from Pan Am. From then on, the A300 family sold well, eventually reaching a total of 816 delivered aircraft.[1]

In December 1977, AeroCóndor Colombia became the first Airbus operator in Latin America, leasing one Airbus A300, named "Ciudad de Barranquilla".

During the late 1970s, Airbus adopted a so-called 'Silk Road' strategy, targeting airlines in the Far East.[34][44] As a result, The aircraft found particular favor with Asian airlines, being bought by Japan Air System, Korean Air, China Eastern Airlines, Thai Airways International, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, China Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Indian Airlines, Trans Australia Airlines and many others. As Asia did not have restrictions similar to the FAA 60-minutes rule for twin-engine airliners which existed at the time, Asian airlines used A300s for routes across the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea.

In 1977, the A300B4 became the first ETOPS compliant aircraft – its high performance and safety standards qualified it for Extended Twin Engine Operations over water, providing operators with more versatility in routing. In 1982 Garuda Indonesia became the first airline to fly the A300B4-200FF. By 1981, Airbus was growing rapidly, with over 300 aircraft sold and options for 200 more planes for over forty airlines. Alarmed by the success of the A300, Boeing responded with the new Boeing 767.

In 1989, Chinese operator China Eastern Airlines received its first A300; by 2006, the airline operated around 18 A300s, making it the largest operator of both the A300 and the A310 at that time. On 31 May 2014, China Eastern officially retired the last A300-600 in its fleet, having begun drawing down the type in 2010.[45]

From 1997 to 2014, a single A300, designated A300 Zero-G, was operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a reduced-gravity aircraft for conducting research into microgravity; the A300 is the largest aircraft to ever have been used in this capacity.[46] A typical flight would last for two and a half hours, enabling up to 30 parabolas to be performed per flight.[47][48]

By the 1990s, the A300 was being heavily promoted as a cargo freighter.[49] The largest freight operator of the A300 is FedEx Express, which has 68 A300 aircraft in service. UPS Airlines also operates 52 freighter versions of the A300. The final version was the A300-600R and is rated for 180-minute ETOPS. The A300 has enjoyed renewed interest in the secondhand market for conversion to freighters; large numbers were being converted during the late 1990s.[50] The freighter versions – either new-build A300-600s or converted ex-passenger A300-600s, A300B2s and B4s – account for most of the world freighter fleet after the Boeing 747 freighter.

The A300 provided Airbus the experience of manufacturing and selling airliners competitively. The basic fuselage of the A300 was later stretched (A330 and A340), shortened (A310), or modified into derivatives (A300-600ST Beluga Super Transporter). In March 2006, Airbus announced the impending closure of the A300/A310 final assembly line,[51] making them the first Airbus aircraft to be discontinued. The final production A300, an A300F freighter, performed its initial flight on 18 April 2007,[52] and was delivered to FedEx Express on 12 July 2007.[53] Airbus has announced a support package to keep A300s flying commercially until at least 2025.

The useful life of the UPS fleet of 52 delivered from 2000 to 2006 will be extended to 2035 by a flight deck upgrade based around Honeywell Primus Epic avionics : new displays and flight management system (FMS), improved 3-D weather radar, a central maintenance system, and a new version of the current enhanced ground proximity warning system. With a light usage of only two to three cycles per day, it will not reach the maximum number of cycles by then. The first modification will be made at Airbus Toulouse in 2019 and certified in 2020.[54]

Variants

This A300B1 was the second A300 built and one of the first to enter airline service in November 1974. It was operated by Trans European Airways of Belgium until retirement from service in November 1990.
An Islandsflug Cargo A300C4-605R at Madrid Barajas Airport, Spain. (2006)
The ZERO-G A300 at Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany. (2004)
Airbus A300B4-200 of Singapore Airlines at Farnborough Airshow in 1980.

A300B1

Only two were built: the first prototype, registered F-WUAB, then F-OCAZ, and a second aircraft, F-WUAC, which was leased in November 1974 to Trans European Airways (TEA) and re-registered OO-TEF. TEA instantly subleased the aircraft for six weeks to Air Algérie, but continued to operate the aircraft until 1990. It had accommodation for 300 passengers (TEA) or 323 passengers (Air Algérie) with a maximum weight of 132,000 kg and two General Electric CF6-50A engines of 220 kN thrust. The A300B1 was five frames shorter than the later production versions, being only 50.97 m (167.2 ft) in length.

A300B2

The first production version. Powered by General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines (the same engines that powered the Boeing 747-100, "the original jumbo jet") of between 227 and 236 kN thrust, it entered service with Air France in May 1974. The prototype A300B2 made its first flight on 28 June 1973 and was certificated by the French and German authorities on 15 March 1974 and FAA approval followed on 30 May 1974. The first production A300B2 (A300 number 5) made its maiden flight on 15 April 1974 and was handed over to Air France a few weeks later on 10 May 1974. The A300B2 entered revenue service on 23 May 1974 between Paris and London.

A300B4

Garuda Indonesia was the launch customer of Airbus A300B4-200FF series in 1982

The major production version. Features a centre fuel tank for increased fuel capacity (47,500 kg) and new wing root Krüger flaps which were later made available as an option for the B2.[55] Production of the B2 and B4 totalled 248. The first A300B4 (the 9th A300) flew on 25 December 1974 and was certified on 26 March 1975. The first delivery was made to Bavaria Germanair (which later merged into Hapag Lloyd) on 23 May 1975.

A300-600

Officially designated A300B4-600, this version is nearly the same length as the B2 and B4 but has increased space because it uses the A310 rear fuselage and horizontal tail. It has higher power CF6-80 or Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines and uses the Honeywell 331-250 auxiliary power unit (APU).[57] Other changes include an improved wing featuring a recambered trailing edge, the incorporation of simpler single-slotted Fowler flaps, the deletion of slat fences, and the removal of the outboard ailerons after they were deemed unnecessary on the A310.[58] The A300-600 made its first flight on 8 July 1983 and entered service later that year with Saudi Arabian Airlines. A total of 313 A300-600s (all versions) have been sold. The A300-600 also has a similar cockpit to the A310, eliminating the need for a flight engineer. The FAA issues a single type rating which allows operation of both the A310 and A300-600.

IranAir Airbus A300B4-605R landing at Heathrow Airport . Reg: EP-IBA .

A300B10 (A310)

Introduced a shorter fuselage, a new, higher aspect ratio wing, smaller horizontal tail and two crew operation. It was available in standard −200 and the Extended range −300 with 9,600 km (5,965 mi) range in both passenger and full cargo versions.

It was also available as a military tanker/transport serving the Canadian Forces and German Air Force. Sales total 260, although five of these (ordered by Iraqi Airways) were never built.

A300-600ST

Commonly referred to as the Airbus Beluga or "Airbus Super Transporter," these five airframes are used by Airbus to ferry parts between the company's disparate manufacturing facilities, thus enabling workshare distribution. They replaced the four Aero Spacelines Super Guppys previously used by Airbus.

Incidents and accidents

As of September 2015, the A300 has been involved in 70 accidents and incidents, including 32 hull-losses and 1,435 fatalities.[59]

Wreckage of PIA Flight 268
American Airlines Flight 587 vertical stabilizer
Nose and forward section of UPS 1354

Aircraft on display

Airbus A300B4 repainted in first A300B1 prototype colours, including original F-WUAB registration.

Four A300s are currently preserved:

Deliveries

Total20072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994199319921991
Deliveries 56169912891188136141723222225
19901989198819871986198519841983198219811980197919781977197619751974
Deliveries 19241711101619194638392615151384

Data through end of December 2007.[1]

Specifications

model A300B4-200[82] A300-600R[83] A300-600F[84]
Cockpit crew Three Two
Main deck 281 (2-4-2 Y @ 34in)
309 (2-4-2 Y @ 31in)
max 345
247 (46 2-2-2 F + 201 2-4-2 Y)
285 (2-4-2 Y @ 34in)
max 345 (3-3-3 Y)
540 
43 AYY ULD
9 AMJ/LD7 + 16 AYY
Lower deck 20 LD3 + bulk 22 LD3 + bulk / 158 
Length 53.61 m (175.9 ft) 54.08 m (177.4 ft)
Overall height 16.72 m (54.9 ft) 16.66 m (54.7 ft)
Wingspan 44.83 m (147.1 ft) 44.84 m (147.1 ft)
Wing area 260 m2 (2,800 sq ft)[85]
Max cabin width 5.287 m (17.35 ft)
Fuselage diameter 5.64 m (18.5 ft)
MTOW 165,000 kg (363,763 lb) 171,700 kg (378,534 lb) 170,500 kg (375,888 lb)
MLW 136,000 kg (299,829 lb) 140,000 kg (308,647 lb)
MZFW 126,000 kg (277,782 lb) 130,000 kg (286,601 lb)
Max Payload 37,495 kg (82,662 lb) 41,374 kg (91,214 lb) 48,293 kg (106,468 lb)
Maximum fuel capacity (d=0.785) 48,470 kg (106,858 lb)
62,000 L (16,000 US gal)
53,505 kg (117,958 lb)
68,160 L (18,010 US gal)
Operating empty weight typical 88,505 kg (195,120 lb) 88,626 kg (195,387 lb) 81,707 kg (180,133 lb)
Engines CF6-50C2 or JT9D-59A CF6-80C2 or PW4158
Thrust 249–270 kN (56,000–61,000 lbf)[86]
Takeoff field length (MTOW, SL, ISA) 2,300 m (7,500 ft) 2,400 m (7,900 ft)
Cruise speed Mach 0.78 (450 kn; 833 km/h) at FL350
Mmo Mach 0.82[86]
Range 5,375 km / 2,900 nm 7,500 km / 4,050 nm[86]

Engines

Type certificate data sheet [87]
Model Date Engines
A300B2-1A 1974 General Electric CF6-50A
A300B2-1C 1975 General Electric CF6-50C
A300B2K-3C 1976 General Electric CF6-50CR
A300B4-2C 1976 General Electric CF6-50C
A300B4-103 1979 General Electric CF6-50C2
A300B4-120 1979 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A
A300B2-203 1980 General Electric CF6-50C2
A300B4-203 1981 General Electric CF6-50C2
A300B4-220 1981 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A
A300B4-601 1988 General Electric CF6-80C2A1
A300B4-603 1988 General Electric CF6-80C2A3
A300B4-620 1983 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4H1
A300B4-622 2003 Pratt & Whitney PW4158
A300B4-605R 1988 General Electric CF6-80C2A5
A300B4-622R 1991 Pratt & Whitney PW4158
A300F4-605R 1994 General Electric CF6-80C2A5 or 2A5F
A300F4-622R 2000 Pratt & Whitney PW4158
A300C4-605R 2002 General Electric CF6-80C2A5

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References

Citations

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