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Airbus A300

1974 COLD WAR MODERN AIRCRAFT

History of the Airbus A300

The Airbus A300 family of airliners is a wide-body airliner developed by the French group for the medium-haul market. The first flight took place on October 28, 1972, and the series was first introduced by Air France on May 30, 1974. Over its long and storied career, the aircraft has been adopted by FedEx, UPS, and more.

About 561 airframes have been completed to date (2014). The A300 also formed the basis for the A310 and A300-600ST "Moby Dick" and influenced subsequent A330 and A340 designs.

The A300-600 and A310 share a high degree of similarity in airframe design and construction (which reduces maintenance and repair costs somewhat), the A300 retains a wider cross-sectiona full 222 inches And the cross-section of an airliner of this size by the Airbus Group is the widest in the world. All Airbus aircraft cockpit systems are designed in much the same way, allowing Airbus pilots to easily transfer their skills to newer or different base models.

This also corresponds to ground engineers being able to work on one platform of the Airbus model and easily transfer those skills and techniques to another.

The Airbus A300 is classified as a "wide-body" airliner and is an extended version of the A310 in the A300 family. The A300 is used by more than 80 airlines around the world and maintains a competitive position in the commercial aircraft market with companies such as Boeing in the United States.

Overall, more than 800 A300 series have been ordered and sold, of which nearly 650 are current and still in use commercial transport passenger or freighter aircraft.

The cockpit of the A300 aircraft offers a modern approach to jetliner flying. The two-person crew introduced with the A300 series is now the industry standard.

The cockpit is controlled by no less than six CRT monitors that provide real-time and critical system monitoring and work together to reduce the pilot's overall workload. The cockpit can also be equipped with a communication system, enabling the crew to communicate with the appropriate ground engineer regarding any required maintenance issues.

An "autoland" feature is also built into the cockpit program to help the crew land in bad weather.

Airbus plans to maintain support for the A300 system through a series of modernization programs, upgrades and retrofit kits through 2049 to keep the system operational and competitive in the lucrative commercial aircraft market. Freight models are maintained by well-known customers such as FedEx, UPS, TNT, and Channel Express.