AIRCRAFT
The "decision in principle" to launch a short-to-medium-range jetliner in the 150-seat category was taken by Airbus Industrie in June, 1981, following some 10 years of design activity in which all major European aircraft manufacturers had been either directly or indirectly involved, individually or in various collaborative groupings. Most directly a forerunner of the aircraft that became the A320 was the Aérospatiale AS-200, which was actually a family of design projects that the French company studied in the mid-1970s.
In 1977 Aérospatiale joined with British Aerospace, MBB and VFW-Fokker in the Joint European Transport (JET) study group, the objective of which was to produce a short/medium-range transport with "a new order of quietness, fuel efficiency and operating economy." The JET work was brought under Airbus Industrie direction when British Aerospace formally became an Airbus partner on January 1, 1979, and the studies continued under the SA (single-aisle) designation. The resulting SA-I, SA-2 and SA-3 had different fuselage lengths. The designation A320 was adopted early in 1981 as refinement of the design continued. The optimum size still remained under study.
The A320 program was launched in March 1982. The aircraft was widely described as a 150-seater, this being the typical mixed-class capacity that was thought likely to be required by the airlines in the last decade of the 20th century. At the time of the marketing launch, however, there was still some interest in a somewhat larger capacity, so A320-100 and A320-200 projects were created to offer (with one-class accommodation at 32 in. /81 cm. pitch) 154- and 172-seat capacities by using different length fuselages.
Air France was the first to announce its intention to purchase the A320, in both of these versions, but that was before Airbus was able to announce a full launch with the necessary financial backing.
In March, 1984, the decision was made to concentrate on a single body size to accommodate 162 passengers, but at two different weights, with different fuel capacities, and these variants took over the designations A320-100 and A320-200.
The engines initially chosen were the CFM56-5 produced by the General Electric/Snecma partnership under the CFM International marketing organization, and the V2500 produced by the International Aero Engines consortium. The thrust ratings of these engines were 25,500 to 27,000 pounds.
The A320 was a wholly new design, the structure of which was based on principles used in the A300 and A310. Much use has been made of advanced materials (including composites), and of advanced-technology systems and equipment. The model has a quadruplex fly-by-wire flight control system, sidestick controllers for the two pilots instead of conventional control columns, computerized control functions, an advanced electronic flightdeck with six fully integrated EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System) color displays, and an electronic centralized aircraft monitor.
The A320 was the first airliner in the world to use fly-by-wire. With this system, control inputs from the pilot are transmitted to the flying surfaces by electronic signals rather than by mechanical means. Apart from a small weight saving, one of the principal advantages of Airbus's fly-by-wire is that it is computer controlled, and an inbuilt flight-envelope protection setup makes it virtually impossible to exceed certain vital flight parameters such as G limits, maximum and minimum operating speeds, and angle of attack limits.
Final assembly of the A320 is undertaken by EADS Aérospatiale in Toulouse, France. Development and construction of the A320 is shared between the Airbus Industrie partners in the same way as with the A300 and A310, with British Aerospace (24% of the work share) responsible for the wings, Aérospatiale (34%) for the forward fuselage and nose, Deutsche Airbus (now DASA) (35%) for the center and rear fuselage, CASA (5%) for rear fuselage panels and tailplane, and Belairbus (2%) for the wing leading edge.
First flight of the company-owned A320 prototype, with CFM56-5 engines, was made on February 22, 1987.
Flight testing took place using four aircraft, all with CFM56 engines initially but one was later retrofitted with V2500s. Certification was awarded on February 26, 1988. Launch customer Air France took delivery of its first A320-100 in March that year, followed by British Caledonian (British Caledonian‚s aircraft are now owned by British Airways, the latter having bought up the Scottish company in December 1987.)
Only 21 A320-100s were ever produced, and all 21 went to the above two airlines. They are the only A320s that lack the distinctive delta-shaped wingtip fences. In addition to having these fences, the A320-200 has an increased fuel capacity for greater range, plus a heavier max takeoff weight, but other than that the differences are minimal.
The A320-200 became then the only A320 to be produced, and the -200 designation was dropped. This version was certificated in November 1988. France‚s Air Inter was the third airline to use the A320, thus the first to receive the new version. The first V2500-engined A320 was delivered to Adria Airways in May 1989.
JAA (the European Joint Airworthiness Authorities) and FAA certifications of the A320 powered by IAE V2527-A5 turbofans (26,500 lb static thrust) were given in 1993, with delivery of the first of this type to United Airlines in December of that year.
Typical range with 150 passengers for the A320 is about 2900 nautical miles (5,400 km), and the model has a cruise altitude of 39,000 feet.
The great commercial success of the A320 gave rise to a family of aircraft which share a common design but are different in fuselage length. The A319 is slightly smaller, the A318 is significantly smaller, and the A321 is slightly larger. Passenger capacities range from 100 to 220. All have the same pilot type-rating. The 150 seat A320 is the best selling member of the family. The three variants are fully described separately.
Technically, the name "A320" only refers to the original aircraft, but it is often informally used to indicate any of the A318/A319/A320/A321 family. All models have been ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) certified.
The A320 family has faced competitive challenges from the Boeing 737 Classics (-300/-400/-500), the Boeing 737 Next-Generation (-600/-700/-800/-900), the Boeing 757, the Boeing 717, the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series and the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 series during its almost two decades in service. As of December 2006, the A320 family's only remaining competitor is the Boeing 737 Next-Generation series, as the other models have ceased production. Embraer's 195 jet is also a major competitor to the A318.
Airbus has shipped 2,801 A318/A319/A320/A321s since the delivery of the first A320 in early 1988, with another 1,560 on firm order (June 2006). Boeing has shipped 5,082 737s since late 1967 with a further 1,277 on firm order (May 2006). Based on these figures Airbus has delivered on average 153 A320 series aircraft per year, compared to Boeing's 132 for the 737.
Airbus is studying a replacement for the A320 series, tentatively dubbed NSR, for New Short-Range aircraft.
As of November 2006, total deliveries of the A320 stand at 1618.
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