Airbus A340-300 - Greatest Airliners Provided by DutchOps.com

<< Back

Airbus A340-300 General

Aircraft

Airbus A340-300

Type

Long range widebody airliner

Crew

2 excl. relief

Click here for all Airbus A340 pictures...

Airbus A340-300 Program Milestones

Launch

1987

First Flight

October 25, 1991

First delivery

1993

Launch Customer

Lufthansa & Air France

Airbus A340-300 Aircraft Dimensions

Cross Section

18 feet 6 inch (5,64 m)

Wing Span

197 feet 10 inch (60,3 m)

Length

208 feet 10 inch (63,6 m)

Height

55 feet 3 inch (16,85 m)

Airbus A340-300 Weights

Maximum Taxi Weight

277.400 kg

Max Take-off Weight

276.500 kg

Max Landing Weight

192.000 kg

Max Zero Fuel Weight

181.000 kg

Operating Empty Weight

130.200 kg

Max Structural Payload

41.000 kg

Usable Fuel

147.850 Litres

Airbus A340-300 Performance

Cruising Speed

Mach 0.82

Maximum Speed

Mach 0.86

Service Ceiling

39.000 feet

TO run at MTOW

3000 m

Range fully loaded

7.400 nm (13.700 km)

Airbus A340-300 Seating

Three Class

295 Passengers

Airbus A340-300 Powerplants

Example of the CFMI CFM56-5C4

CFM56-5C4

151 kN

CFM56-5C/P

151 kN

Range

7.400 nautical miles (13.700 km)

Prices all variants - ($ in Millions)

Approximately $ 171

Airbus A340-300

The Airbus A340-300 is a wide-body, four-engine, twin-aisle aircraft, and is stretched by two four-frame fuselage plugs compared to the Airbus A340-200. Its design combines high technology, intitially developed for the Airbus A320, with the vast experience gained from the A300 and A310 aircraft, which is in use worldwide. The A340 incorporates many features already proven to be succesful on earlier models which includes a two-man crew operation, fly-by-wire controlled flight controls, sidestick controllers, FADEC and Centralized Maintenance System (CMS). The aircraft is able to accomodate up to 295 passengers in a typical three-class configuration over a distance of 6.700 nautical miles. The initial version, the -300, first flew on the 25th of October 1991, and entered service with Lufthansa and Air France in March 1993. Just like the -200, the A340-300 is powered by four CFMI CFM56-5C engines.

First studies for the A340 date back to 1981 when it was designated as the TA11. It was officially launched in June 1987 as a long-range complement to the Aibus A320 short range family and medium-range Airbus A300. Airbus faced a major disadvantage against aircraft such as the Boeing 747 because of the ETOPS proble m since two-engined aircraft had to stay within close range of emergency airfield to allow for engine failures. The Airbus A340 was designed and build in parallel with the A330, explaining many similarities between the two.

Airbus A340-300 Design

The Airbus A340-300 is stretched by approximately 14 feet compared to the A340-200. It is a long range aircraft operated by a 2-man cockpit crew and is, just like the A320 and A330 family, fly-by-wire controlled. Its highly sophisticated flight deck incorporates the following features:

Sidestick controllers which leave the main instrument panel unobstructed.
Six interchangeable and swithable display units which are integrated into the same system architecture (EFIS/ECAM).
Ergonomic layout of panels, synoptically arranged according to frequency of use and located within easy reach and visibility for both crew members.
Monitoring of systems through an Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM).
Coherent system of color coding for EFIS, ECAM and panel lights.

The advanced flight deck of the Airbus A340 fleet incorporates an optimised layout of liquid crystal displays, which offers each crew member quick accessibility to all relevant data. Flight information is provided through the Electronic Flight Instrument Ssytem (EFIS) while primary flight and navigation information is shown on respectively the Primary Flight Display (PFD) and the Navigation Display (ND). The flight deck is equipped with three multipurpose control and display units that give access to the aircraft's flight management system, and provides data both on the groud as in the air. The ECAM, or Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM), displays engine information on the top screen while the lower ECAM provides aircraft systems information.

In case of a display unit failure, essential information is automatically rearranged by an automatic display configuration feature. Furthermore, the flight deck incorporates a multi-purpose printer, GPWS, GPS, ACARS, TCAS, FANS A and optionally a Microwave Landing System (MLS).

The A330 and A340 have nearly identical cockpits except that the latter requires two additional engine throttles. This commonality allow both aircraft to be operated by a common pool of pilots as transition from the A340 to the A330 takes no longer than one day while transition from the smaller A330 to the A340 takes approximately three days. Another advantage of Airbus' commonality is a pilot's ability to be current on more than one aircraft and is known as Mixed Fleet Flying. This means that a pilot is enabled to switch rapidly from flying ultra long-haul A340 aircraft to regional operating Airbus A319 aircraft. This brings more dynamic crew scheduling possibilities and is highly appreciated by pilots.

Airbus was the first aircraft manufacturer to have cockpit commonality throughout its fly-by-wire fleet. The Airbus A330 and A340 are good examples as both families bring these advantages to six aircraft with seating capacities of 250 to 475 passengers and operating ranges from regional segments to ultra-long distance routes.

Airbus A340-300 Versions

Airbus A340-300	The Airbus A340-300 was the initial version of the A340 and first flew on the 25th of October 1991. It entered service with Lufthansa and Air France roughly two years later and is, apart from its increased length, similar to the A340-200.

Airbus A340-313X	The Airbus A340-313X is a heavyweight version of the Airbus A340-300. It was first delivered to Singapore Airlines in April 1996 and is currently in use with airlines like Cathay Pacific and BWIA.

Airbus A340-313E	The Airbus A340-313E is the latest version of the A340-300 and was first delivered launch customer South African Airways in 2004. The aircraft has MTOW of 276.5 tonnes and carry up to 295 passengers over distance of between 7.200 and 7.400 nautical miles. Furthermore, it has upgraded engines, new LCD cockpit displays and a more spacious cabin interior design. This version is the only one still in production today with orders totalling 219.