Since its inception, the Airbus 320 has already become a true legend in the civilian aircraft industry. The appearance of this aircraft was a landmark event for the entire industry. The fact is that it has a number of fundamental differences from those airliners that rose into the air before it. The main one is the fact that the planes are not controlled hydraulically, but thanks to servos. This step allows you to control the actions of the pilots, timely correcting their mistakes.
Airbus 320 has a fairly large modern control panel. The creators tried to make it as computerized as possible. There are 6 color displays. Instead of a helm, the aircraft is equipped with a special joystick.
This airliner was released after the Boeing 737 began to plow the world's airspace. So the Airbus developers tried to take into account absolutely all of its shortcomings so that their aircraft easily outperformed Boeing's products on the market.
Sales of Airbus A 320 aircraft began in 1988. Air France was the first buyer. Apparently, its leaders were impressed by the technical specifications and photos of the new type of aircraft from Airbus. The first production models had the following full index: A 320-100. It is worth noting that there were not so many such aircraft. Six months later, the A320-200 became the main version of the liner of this model. It is characterized by the presence of winglers, as well as a longer flight range and increased maximum take-off weight.
These aircraft are capable of carrying up to 179 passengers on board. However, the standard number of seats in the Airbus 320 is 138. For full control of the airliner, 2 pilots are needed. The aircraft enjoys stable popularity among passengers, as its cabin has an attractive interior and uniform lighting that contributes to a calm rest. Seats are arranged in 6 rows (3 places on each side). Between them there is a spacious passage, sufficient for convenient movement around the cabin of the liner.
This type of aircraft has quite good technical characteristics. It is capable of speeds up to 903 km / h. The maximum flight range without refueling is 5,676 km. It should be borne in mind that this indicator decreases with increasing weight of the transported cargo. The maximum take-off weight of the liner is 78 tons. An empty A 320-200 aircraft has a mass of 42 tons. The wingspan of the liner is 34 m. Their area is 122.5 m 2 . The height of this aircraft is 12 m and the length is 37.5 m. The diameter of the fuselage is 3.96 m. The airliner of this model is able to rise to a height of slightly less than 12 km. It has 2 IAE V2500 or CFM56-5 engines installed on it. Their thrust is 111-120 kN. Given all these characteristics, it becomes clear why this liner is very often used by airlines for flights over medium distances.
In the 25 years since the release of the first Airbus 320 aircraft , about 2,500 aircraft of this model were sold. Most often, they are preferred by European airlines. Today, such aircraft are a reliable workhorse for German Air Berlin, Irish Aer Lingus, Malaysian AirAsia, Hungarian Wizz Air, Russian Avianov and S7, as well as for many other companies.