Airbus A310

Airbus A310
Royal Jordanian A310-300
Type	Airliner
Manufacturer	Airbus S.A.S.
Maiden flight	1982-04-03
Introduced	April 1983 with Lufthansa and Swissair
Primary users	FedEx (59) Air India (19) Pakistan International Airlines (13) Air Transat (11)
Produced	1983-2007
Number built	255
Developed from	Airbus A300
Variants	A310 MRTT CC-150 Polaris

The Airbus A310 is a medium to long-range widebody airliner manufactured by Airbus S.A.S. It was Airbus' second model to be introduced, and is a shortened derivative of the A300.

History

The A310 is a shortened derivative of the Airbus A300. Perhaps the greatest attribute of the A310 is range. The A310-300's range exceeds all A300 models and the -200 exceeds all A300 models in range except the A300-600. This quality has led to the aircraft being used extensively on transatlantic routes. The A300 and A310 introduced the concept of commonality which has become one of the Airbus family's greatest marketing points: A300-600 and A310 pilots can qualify for the other aircraft with only one day of training.

A British Caledonian A310-200 circa 1984

Like its sister aircraft, the A300, the A310 is reaching the end of its market life as a passenger and cargo aircraft. There have been no new A310 passenger orders since the late 1990s, and only a few freighter orders remain. The A310 (along with the A300) will cease production in July of 2007. Freighter sales are to be fulfilled by a new A330-200F derivative.

Although production of the A310 has been scheduled to cease in July 2005, there have been no orders or deliveries since 1998. At the end of 1998 there had been 260 A310 orders and 255 delivered.

The aircraft was formally launched in July 1978 for Lufthansa and Swissair. A further development of the A300, the aircraft was initially designated the A300 B10. Essentially a "baby" A300, the main differences in the two aircraft are

• Shortened fuselage - same cross section, providing capacity of about 200.
• Redesigned wing - designed by British Aerospace who rejoined Airbus consortium
• Smaller vertical fin

The A310 is marketed as an excellent introduction to widebody operations for developing airlines. With the Airbus A330 now a major success, further orders for the A310 are unlikely. Between 1983 and 1997, 255 A310s were delivered by Airbus. The A300 and A310 established Airbus as a major competitor to Boeing and allowed it to go ahead with the more ambitious A330/A340 family.

The A310 has also been extensively used with the armed forces of many countries, including but not limited to:

• Belgium
• Canada designation CC-150 Polaris
• France
• Germany
• Thailand

Variants

There is one variant of the A310 and launched in 1978 with introduction into service in 1983. There are several versions of the A310.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines A310-300

A310-200

The first A310 was the 162nd Airbus off the production line, the aircraft made its maiden flight in April 1982 powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. The -200 entered service with Swissair and Lufthansa a year later.

A310-200C

This is the convertible version of this plane. The seats can be removed and cargo placed on the main deck.

A310-300

First flown in July 1985, the -300 has an increased MTOW and an increase in range, provided by additional centre and horizontal stabilizer (trim-tank) fuel tanks. This model also introduced wingtip fences to improve aerodynamic efficiency, a feature that has since been retrofitted to some -200s. The aircraft entered service in 1986, again with Swissair. No production freighters of the A310 were produced. Operators such as FedEx instead adapt ex-airline A310s into freighters. Most have been the -300 version.

A310-300C

This is the convertible version of this plane. The seats can be removed and cargo placed on the main deck.

A310 MRTT

A310 MRTT:The A310 has long been operated by many of the world's airforces as a pure transport, however some are now being converted to the "Multi Role Tanker Transport" configuration by EADS, providing an aerial refueling capability. Six have been ordered; four by the German Luftwaffe and two by the Canadian Forces. Deliveries began in 2004. Three are being converted at EADS' Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) in Dresden, Germany; the other three at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany.

Specifications

FedEx Express A310-200F

Hapagfly A310-304

	A310-200	A310-200F	A310-300	A310-300F
Crew	2
Length	153 ft 1 in (46.66 m)
Height	51 ft 10 in (15.8 m)
Wingspan	144 ft (43.9 m)
Wing sweep	28 °
Cross section	17ft 4in (5.64 m)
Passengers (3cl)	187	33t cargo	187	33t cargo
MTOW	312,342 lb (141,974 kg)		361,600 lb (164,000 kg) *
Empty weight	176,312 lb (80,142 kg )	72,400 kg	183,300 lb (83,100 kg )	73,900 kg
Max fuel	14,603 US g (55,200 L)		19,940 US g (75,470 L)
Cruise speed (M)	0.79
Max speed (M)	0.84
Ceiling	40,000 ft (12,192 m)
Thrust (×2) (lb)	50,000-53,200		56,000-59,000
Engines	PWJT9D-7R4 or CF6-80C2A2		PW4156A or CF6-80C2A8
Range	6,800 km (3,670 nm)	5,550 km	9,600 km (5,200 nm)	7,330 km

* 157,000 kg is standard for the -300, 164,000 kg is an option.

A310 deliveries

2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997	1996	1995	1994	1993
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2	22
1992	1991	1990	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985	1984	1983	1982	1981	1980
24	19	18	23	28	21	19	26	21	17	0	0	0

Incidents

• Hull-loss Accidents: 6 with a total of 518 fatalities
• Hijackings: 10 with a total of 5 fatalities

Wikinews has news related to:

Passenger plane crashes in Russia

• S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310-324 jet from Moscow carrying 196 passengers and eight crew, overshot the runway at Irkutsk in Siberia, plowed through a concrete barrier and caught fire as it crashed into buildings. Reports said that 70 of the 204 on board survived, with 12 still missing [1]. Since the accident, casualty figures have fluctuated, in part due to three people boarding the aircraft that were not on the passenger manifest, and some survivors having walked home and assumed to be trapped in the wreckage. (10 July 2006 02:15 UTC) [2] The airline has set up a website with information for relatives and a passenger list at www.bort778.info.

• Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed in Siberia after the pilot let his son sit at the controls.
• Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from Abidjan on January 31, 2000.

• Other Incidents: Rudder partially fell off an Air Transat flight

Trivia

• The A310 has the widest cabin for its length of any airplane ever manufactured by Airbus. The A310 is only 8 feet longer than an A321 but is significantly wider

External links

• Airbus A310 Production List
• Airbus Website: A310

Related content

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Airbus A310

Related development

• List of Airbus A310 operators
• Airbus A300
• Airbus Beluga

Comparable aircraft

• Boeing 767-200ER

• Boeing 767-300ER
• Boeing 767-400ER
• Ilyushin Il-86
• Airbus A330

See also