The world's first twin-engine wide-body aircraft was almost a joke half a century ago, but it was the forerunner of the United States' end of commercial aviation monopoly
In the mid-1960s, American aircraft manufacturers occupied an absolute dominance in the commercial aviation field, with 9 out of every 10 aircraft belonging to Boeing (Boeing ), Douglas or Lockheed.
Although Europeans have advanced technology and many models, such as 1-11, Caravelle, Trident (Trident), and VC-10, etc., they have no way to resist the power of the United States. Therefore, fighting the United States is a difficult task and the entire Europe needs to unite.
Europe has good examples of joint projects, such as the C-160 Transall military cargo aircraft jointly developed by France and Germany, and especially the supersonic Concorde aircraft jointly developed by France and the United Kingdom, but the challenge is huge to launch a commercially attractive jetliner.
has tried, such as Hawker Siddeley, Breguet and Nord Aviation’s HBN 100 project, or SUD Aviation’s (Sud Aviation) plan to bring the huge Galion to market.
It was not until 1966 that the French, German and British governments decided to lay the foundation for a joint project called "Airbus" to refer to large aircraft. The team consists of SUD Aviation, MBB, VFW and Hawker Siddeley, and the engine will be developed by Ronaldo Ronaldo.207 turbofan engine.
It looks promising, but the first problem quickly emerges. In 1969, the UK decided to abandon the project, just as Ronaldo abandoned the RB.207 for the smaller RB.211, for use by Lockheed L-1011 Samsung style (TriStar).
This change proved to be positive, as Airbus chose General Electric (GE) CF6-50A, a product already in development and was originally used for DC-10.
But after all, what kind of aircraft do European partners want? An aircraft that can carry up to 300 passengers, so it is called the A300. It will have up to nine rows of seats and requires a very powerful engine, so the RB.207 was crucial in the beginning.
This will be a bigger aircraft than Boeing 777-200, only British European Airlines (BEA) is interested, but with the UK's exit, Air France and Lufthansa require a smaller aircraft with about 225 seats.
Airbus then reconsidered the earlier draft, like the Galion of China Southern, which tended to use smaller fuselage-section aircraft (can accommodate 8 seats), with two aisles but with a higher floor to transport LD3 containers in the cargo hold. The jet was named A300B, although it had nothing to do with the original idea.
picture, A300 model at the 1969 Paris Air Show
A300 is scheduled to be launched at the Paris Air Show in June 1969, and the full-size model with a wide body front fuselage is on display.
Airbus Industries, which was first known as Airbus Industries, was not officially established until 1970, owned 50% of France and Germany, and was a partner with SNIAS (Nord and Suv Airlines, later known as Aerospatiale) and Deustche Airbus (MBB, VFW and HFB merger).
However, the following year, CASA from Spain joined the project, gaining a 4.2% stake. Meanwhile, Hawkesidley remains a partner, responsible for producing the A300’s wings. It was not until 1979 that Airbus achieved its stable combination with the late entry of British Aerospace, two years later, the merger of British Aircraft and Hawkesidley. The proportion of
is as follows: France and Germany each account for 37.9%, the United Kingdom account for 20%, and Spain account for the remaining 4.2%.
picture, first A300B1, registered F-WUAB (Airbus)
In the early 1970s, Boeing had dominated the sales of commercial aircraft, although it was very close to Douglas.When the 707 and 727 compete with the DC-8 and the small DC-9, the two giants began to compete for large-scale long-range widebody machines. The
four-engine 747 quickly established itself as a flagship aircraft flying across the ocean, with the DC-10 and Samsung (both equipped with three engines) trying to squeeze some share from Boeing's sales.
It is in this situation that A300 came into being. While U.S. competitors invest in large jets at long distances, Airbus is betting on the short-range medium-sized aircraft A300-B1.
This project is very confusing because it brings together four countries with different languages and cultures, and the assembly process of the aircraft is scattered, and the parts are produced in the UK, Germany and Spain, and then transported by the old Gubby aircraft to the factory in Toulouse in southern France.
suppliers also come from all over the world, unlike aircraft produced in the United States.
But this innovative solution proves to be beneficial as each partner focuses on their own field of expertise and the entire manufacturing process is fast. The first prototype of the
A300B1 began assembly in September 1969 and was ready three years later. Just one month later, the A300B1 made its first flight on October 28, 1972.
This day, which just celebrated its 50th birthday, is much more meaningful because it marks the beginning of the air transport revolution. Half a century later, Airbus is now the world's largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, ending Boeing's decades-long dominance.
Interestingly, Pioneer A300B1 only produced one more aircraft, the second prototype. At that time, Airbus had developed the A300B2, which was 2.6 meters long and could carry up to 251 passengers in accordance with the requirements of Air France .
Picture and the first crew of A300
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
From that October 28, the sky in the world has been different. Due to the increasing reliability of the turbofan engine , commercial twin-engine jets have become the standard in the aerospace industry, including long-distance flights.
A300 is also the basis for technological advancements, such as the large-scale use of composite materials, large jet aircraft using crews with only two pilots, and more precise and efficient fly-by-wire flight controls.
is already very good for a project that was born under many doubts.
