PLEASE TURN WORD WRAP ON

-The Project Freeware Group -- Airbus A319/A320/A321 Series-
(C) 1997 All Rights Reserved


Airbus launched a rival for the Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80 families in the form of the A320. From the outset, Airbus determined to use as much 'new technology' as possible to dramatically reduce operating costs and worked hard to persuade the airline market to accept something different.  When Airbus launched the A320 in 1981 it was built around a then-unique fly by wire (FBW) control system and a choice of two new turbofan engines. Three fuselage lengths were initially proposed, but the team at Toulouse settled on just two: the 130/140-seat A320-100 and the 150/160 seat A320-200.
Air France announced a letter of intent for both versions at the Paris air show of 1981, where Boeing was also exhibiting the new 737-300. In the face of continued airline interest, Airbus decided to concentrate on a single fuselage length, seating approximately 150 passengers, while offering two versions still dubbed A320-100 and -200. The difference was in payload/range, as the 'new' A320-100 had wing fuel tanks only, as opposed to the higher MTOW A320-200 with additional fuselage center-fuselage fuel tanks. The type was finally launched in 1984, with its first orders from British Caledonian Airways. Orders continued to grow until the A320 first flew on 22 February 1984. The first deliveries were made to Air France in March 1988, these being of the lightweight A320-100 version (only 21 of which were built). The first A320-200 was delivered to Ansett Airways in June 1988.
Airbus offers several versions of the CFM International CFM56-5A engine for the A320, along with the newly developed International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500-A1, which claims a much improved fuel burn. Over half the orders so far (67 per cent) have been for CFM-engined aircraft, A more radical innovation is the five-computer, quadruplex Thomson-CSF/Sfena digital FBW control system that provides the pilot with a side-stick controller instead of a more normal control column. The cockpit features color, multi-function displays, a unique Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor system and only 13 main panel instruments.
In June 1989 Airbus announced the A321, a stretched version of the A320. The aircraft was 6.93 m (273 in) longer than the A320, with reinforced center fuselage and landing gear, and redesigned trailing-edge flaps. The fuselage stretch, accommodating a normal load of 176 passengers, comprised two plugs forward and aft of the wing. This has to the repositioning of the four emergency exits to either side of the wing leading and trailing edges.
Airbus is offering one version the A321-1OO, with a choice of CFM56-5B or IAE V2530-A5 turbofans. it was initially assumed that the new type would be assembled alongside the A320 on the Toulouse line but, instead, it has become the first Airbus to be assembled in Germany, at DASA's Otto Lilienthal facility, Hamburg. The first A321 was rolled out on 3 March 1993, and the maiden flight took piece on 11 March 1993. Four aircraft underwent an 850-hour flight test program that led to the type's European JAA certification in December 1993, with CFM56 approval following on 15 February 1994.
Launch customers were Lufthansa, which chose the higher-powered V2530 for its aircraft (20), and Alitalia (40). Lufthansa took delivery of the first production A321 on 27 January 1994, followed by Alitalia (with CFM56-56 engines) on 22 March. By mid-1994, orders for the $47.5 million airliner stood at 131, with eight in service.
The short-fuselage A319 was announced in May 1992 as the third member of the A320 'family'. Using the similar systems, avionics and structure to the A320, the A319 will offer the more powerful engine choices of the A321, and be built alongside the latter, in Hamburg. The A319 will have the longest range of the three versions at 3,105 miles (5000 km), will be some 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) shorter than the A320, and carry a normal load of 130 passengers. Airbus formally launched the project at the 1993 Farnborough air show, after an earlier order for six aircraft from leasing firm ILFC in December 1992. The A319 first flew on 25 August 1996, and service entry is planned for early 1996. In January 1994, Air Inter placed orders for nine aircraft, with options on a further nine (though these may be converted to A320s or A321s). Swissair has also signed for three of the type, followed by Air Canada with an order for 25.


  Flight model:  The flight model for this series has been optimized for use in FSW95(FS6). However this flight model should perform adequately in FS5.1.

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