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Airbus A320 General
Aircraft
Airbus A320 Series
Type
Short/Medium range airliner
Crew
2
Unit Cost
US$ 55 - 66 million
Main Operator
US - NW
Status
Active


Airbus A320 Program Milestones
Launch
Late 1980's
First Flight
February 2, 1987
First delivery
March 3, 1988
Launch Customer
Air France


Airbus A320 Aircraft Dimensions
Cross Section
13 feet 0 inch (3,96 m)
Wing Span
111 feet 10 inch (34,10 m)
Length
123 feet 3 inch (37,57 m)
Height
38 feet 7 inch (11,76 m)

Airbus A320 Weights
Maximum Taxi Weight
77.400 kg
Max Take-off Weight
77.000 kg
Max Landing Weight
66.000 kg
Max Zero Fuel Weight
62.500 kg
Operating Empty Weight
42.400 kg
Max Structural Payload
16.600 kg
Usable Fuel
23.860 litres

Airbus A320 Performance
Cruising Speed
Mach 0.79
Maximum Speed
Mach 0.82
Service Ceiling
39.000 feet
TO run at MTOW
6.857 feet (2.090 m)
Range fully loaded
3.000 nm (5.700 km)

Airbus A320 Seating
One Class
164 Passengers
Two Class
150 Passengers

Airbus A320 Powerplants


Example of the IAE V2500

CFM56-5
98 kN
IAE V2500
120 kN

Range
3.000 nautical miles (5.700 km)

Prices all variants - ($ in Millions)
Approximately 55 - 66



Airbus A320 Information
With more than 3.000 aircraft built, the A320 family is the second best selling jet airliner family of all time consisting of the Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321. The Airbus A320 is the first aircraft of the A320 family. The aircraft was first delivered in 1988 and was the first ever incorporating fly-by-wire technology. The Airbus A320 was developed after the initial succes of the Airbus A300 and was aimed to replace the Boeing 727. It would be of the same size while providing improved operating economics and digital technology. The A320 was delivered into two versions, the A320-100 and A320-200.

As oil prices started to rise significantly during the 1970s, Airbus set course to minimise trip fuel costs of the Airbus A320. Having this in mind, Airbus incorporated advanced features including the previously mentioned fly-by-wire technology, centre-of-gravity control using fuel, EFIS, composite primary structures and a two-person flight deck. Eventually, this resulted in the A320 consuming 50% less fuel than the Boeing 727 on comparable sector lengths.

Martinair operates three Airbus A320 aircraft
A Syrian Airlines Airbus A320 taxies out for departure
An Air France Airbus A320-100 seen on final
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Airbus A320 Design
The Airbus A320 features a wider single-aisle cabin as well as larger overhead bins when compared to similar aircraft like for example the Boeing 737-800. Furthermore, the aircraft is equipped with fly-by-wire technology, reducing pilot workload while increasing safety. It was first introduced on the Airbus A320 and now used on almost all models including the A330, A340 and A380. The Airbus A320 family has a spacious cargo hold accesible through two large cargo doors, both hydraulically powered, that assist the operator in expedient loading and unloading of load. Features like these have resulted in orders from major airlines like British Airways, United Airlines and Northwest Airlines, being the launch customer of the type. Low operating and maintenance cost also made the aircraft appealing to low-cost-carriers, such as Jetblue and Kingfisher Airlines.

A Dutchbird Airbus A320 on finals
America West operates a large fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft
A BA Airbus A320 on approach into LHR
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The flight deck of the A320 is equipped with sidestick controllers, which was relatively new to pilots in the commercial aviation industry. The sidestick plays an integral role in the aircraft's fly-by-wire control system as it enables pilots to accomplish aircraft movement with less effort. Furthermore, the aircraft has a full glass cockpit rather than the hybrid versions found on aircraft like the Airbus A310, Boeing 757 or Boeing 767.

 
The Airbus A320 was the first narrow body aircraft made with a significant amount of composites. It made the aircraft lighter, thus increasing operating efficiency. ECAM, or Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring, is a standard feature included in all Airbus aircraft built after the introduction of the A320. This system displays information concerning the aircraft's engines, as well as other key systems such as flight controls, pneumatics and hydraulics to both pilots on the two LCD displays located in the centre of the flightdeck. Although CRT displays were used on earlier models, Airbus recently started installing LCD units on the flight deck of all its new A318, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. These included the main displays and the back-up artiticial horizon, which was analogue prior to this update.

Airbus A320 flightdeck lay-out

Airbus A320 Versions

Airbus A320-100 The Airbus A320-100 was the first version of the A320. Only 21 aircraft of this version were built and delivered to Air Inter, Air France and British Airways. The A320-100 are the only A320s that lack the distinctive "wingtip fences", which make them instantly recognisable.
 
Airbus A320-200

The A320-200 does feature wingtip fences as well as increased fuel capacity. The -200 aircraft can be powered by either two CFMI CFM56-5 or IAE V2500 engines having thrust ratings between 25.000 to 27.000 pounds force (lbf).


British Airways Airbus A320 flight deck @ night
Sight not to be seen again: DB Airbus A320
Heavy weather while this Vueling Airbus A320 departs
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Aer Lingus Airbus A320
Syrian Airbus A320
Martinair Airbus A320 taxies in
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EFIS Displays Primary Flight Displays Primary Flight Displays