Airbus A320
"A320" redirects here. For other uses, see A320 (disambiguation).
"A319" and "A321" redirect here. For the British roads, see A319 road and A321 road.
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A320 aircraft: A320 range, specifications (dimensions, seating - Airbus
The Airbus A320 family consists of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, and the ACJ business jet. Final assembly of the family in Europe takes place in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany. Since 2009, a plant in Tianjin in the People's Republic of China has also started producing aircraft for Chinese airlines. The aircraft family can accommodate up to 220 passengers and has a range of 3,100 to 12,000 km (1,700 to 6,500 nmi), depending on model.
The first member of the A320 family—the A320—was launched in March 1984, first flew
on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in 1988. The family was
soon extended to include the A321 (first delivered 1994), the A319
(1996), and the A318 (2003). The A320 family pioneered the use of
digital fly-by-wire flight control systems, as well as side-stick controls, in commercial aircraft. There has been a continuous improvement process since introduction.
On 1 December 2010, Airbus officially launched the new generation of the A320 family with the A320neo "New Engine Option".Offering a choice of the CFM International LEAP-X or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G, combined with airframe improvements and the addition of Sharklets, the aircraft will deliver fuel savings of up to 15%. Virgin America
will be the launch customer for the aircraft in spring of 2016. As of
31 December 2011, a total of 1,196 A320neo family aircraft have been
ordered by 21 airlines making it the fastest ever selling commercial
aircraft.
As of October 2011, a total of 4,858 Airbus A320 family aircraft have been delivered, of which 4,765 are in service. In addition, another 3,255 airliners are on firm order.
It ranked as the world's fastest-selling jet airliner family according
to records from 2005 to 2007, and as the best-selling single-generation
aircraft programme.The family's direct competitors are the Boeing 737, 717 and 757.
Design effort
A new programme was initiated subsequently, called Joint European Transport (JET). This was set up in June 1977, and was based at the then British Aerospace (formerly Vickers) site in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. Although the members were all of Airbus' partners, they regarded the project as a separate collaboration from Airbus. This project was considered the forerunner of Airbus A320, encompassing the 130- to 188-seat market, powered by two CFM56s. It would have a cruise speed of Mach 0.84 (faster than Boeing 737). The programme was later transferred to Airbus, leading up to the creation of the Single-Aisle (SA) studies in 1980, led by former leader of JET programme, Derek Brown.The group looked at three different variants, covering the 125- to 180-seat market, called SA1, SA2 and SA3.Although unaware at the time, the consortium was producing the blueprints for the A319, A320 and A321, respectively.The single-aisle programme created divisions within Airbus about
whether to design a shorter-range twinjet than a longer-range quadjet
wanted by the West Germans, particularly Lufthansa. However, works proceeded, and the German carrier would eventually order the twinjet.
With the A320, Airbus made a controversial decision. For the first time, digital fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system would be incorporated into a commercial airliner, although it was previously successfully proven on military fighter aircraft, such as the Vought F-8 Crusader. Aside from associated reduction in weight and cost, this system would provide flight envelope protection. The pilot, in essence, places inputs into the flight control computer, which interprets these actions and moves the flight control surfaces. FBW also allows Airbus to make flying characteristics similar to later models, such as the Airbus A330, A340, A380, and the upcoming A350. It would feature side-stick control for the first time on a commercial aircraft. Bernard Ziegler son of the former Airbus CEO, Henri Ziegler,
was the initiator of the aircraft's revolutionary fly-by-wire flight
controls with side-stick cockpit controller and full glass cockpit. He
successfully convinced aviation authorities of the concept's validity.
During the A320 development programme, Airbus considered propfan technology, backed by Lufthansa.At the time unproven, it was essentially a fan placed outside the engine nacelle, offering speed of a turbofan at turboprops economics; eventually, Airbus stuck with turbofans. Power on the A320 would be supplied by two CFM56-5-A1s rated at 25,000 lbf (112.5 kN). It was the only available engine at launch until the IAE V2500, offered by International Aero Engines, a group composed of Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, Japanese Aero Engines Corporation, Fiat and MTU Aero Engines (MTU). The first V2500 variant, the V2500-A1, has a thrust output of 25,000 pounds-force (110 kN), hence the name, and is marginally more efficient than the CFM56, with specific fuel consumption at 0.560, compared to 0.591 of the CFM56.
Interior
Airframe
The Airbus A320 family are low-wing cantilever monoplanes with a conventional tail unit with a single vertical stabilizer and rudder. Wing swept back at 25 degrees, optimised for maximum operating Mach number 0.82,
built by British Aerospace (BAe). Compared to other airliners of the
same class, the A320 features a wider single-aisle cabin of 155.5 inches
(3.95 m) outside diameter, compared to 148 inches (3.8 m) of the Boeing
737 and 131.6 inches (3.34 m) of the Boeing 717,
and larger overhead bins. In addition, the aircraft has a cargo hold
equipped with large doors to assist in expedient loading and unloading
of goods.
Flight deck and avionics
The A320 was the first civil airliner to include a full digital fly-by-wire flight control system. Its design also included a full glass cockpit rather than the hybrid versions found in previous airliners. Digital head-up displays are available.
The A320's flight deck is equipped with Electronic Flight Instrument System
(EFIS) with side-stick controllers. At the time of the aircraft's
introduction, the behaviour of the fly-by-wire system (equipped with
full flight envelope protection) was a new experience for many pilots. The A320 features an Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor
(ECAM) which gives the flight crew information about all the systems of
the aircraft. With the exception of the very earliest A320s, most can
be upgraded to the latest avionics standards, keeping the aircraft
advanced even after two decades in service.
Early A320 planes used the Intel 80186 and Motorola 68010, in 1988 Intel 80286 family CPUs. The flight management computer contained six CPUs, running in three logical pairs, with 2.5 megabytes of memory.
Newer
Airbus feature LCD (liquid crystal display) units in the flight deck of
its A318, A319, A320, and A321 flight decks instead of the original CRT
(cathode ray tube) displays. These include the main displays and the backup artificial horizon, which was an analogue display prior to this. LCDs weigh less and produce less heat than CRT displays.
Engines
Three suppliers provide turbofan engines for the A320 series: CFM International with their CFM56, International Aero Engines, offering the V2500 and Pratt & Whitney whose PW6000 engines are only available for the A318 variant.
A320 Enhanced
A320 Enhanced (or A320E) is the working title for a
series of improvements to the A320 family. The improvements include
engine improvements, aerodynamic refinements, such as adding large
curved winglets (Sharklets), weight savings, and a new cabin.
In 2006, Airbus tested three styles of winglet intended to counteract the wing’s induced drag and wingtip vortices
more effectively than the previous wingtip fence. The first design type
to be tested was developed by Airbus and was based on work done by the
AWIATOR programme. The second type of winglet incorporated a more
blended design and was designed by Winglet Technology LLC, a company
based in Wichita, Kansas. Two aircraft were used in the flight test
evaluation campaign – the prototype A320, F-WWBA, which have been retained by Airbus for testing, and the new F-WWDL, which later delivered to JetBlue Airways and registered N636JB; the latter was fitted with both types of winglets.
Despite the anticipated efficiency gains and development work, Airbus
announced that the new winglets will not be offered to customers,
claiming that the weight of the modifications required would negate any
aerodynamic benefits. Instead, on 17 December 2008, Airbus announced it was to begin flight testing an existing blended winglet design developed by Aviation Partners as part of an A320 modernisation programme. The aircraft used for the test programme is MSN001 (F-WWBA), the original A320 prototype airframe, powered by CFM56 engines
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