Why is it so popular?Why the Airbus A320 became the "best-selling passenger plane in the world"-1987.2.22 First flight
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29 comments 29Exactly "the first passenger plane
Former Vanilla Air / ANA Airbus A320 (photographed by the vehicle news editorial department).
February 22, 1987 (Showa 62) is the day when the best-selling aircraft "A320" of European aircraft manufacturer Airbus (at that time Airbus Industry) flew for the first time. As of 2022, the A320 is the world's best-selling airliner, and with this blockbuster, Airbus has grown to be on par with Boeing America as the "world's two largest airliner manufacturer." [... Choro-Q? ] A320's variant-derived ultra-short fuselage "A318" The A320 was exactly the "first-class" passenger plane for Airbus. For the company, whose main product was a "wide-body aircraft" with two aisles, the A320 was the first "single-aisle passenger aircraft" with a single aisle and a compact fuselage. In this field, there are already standard aircraft such as Boeing's 737 series and Douglas' DC-9 / MD-80 series at the time of development, and Airbus will incorporate advanced technology into the A320 to challenge this. For example, the A320 is equipped with the world's first passenger aircraft, the "fly-by-wire" system that transmits pilot movements to the wings using computer-controlled electrical signals instead of hydraulic pressure (partially the same in the past). There is a model in which the system was adopted). This has reduced weight and maintenance costs. With the adoption of "fly-by-wire", the A320 was the first to install a side-stick type cockpit located next to the cockpit, which later became a trademark of the cockpit of Airbus aircraft. VIP guests such as the Prince and Princess of Wales, and then French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac also participated in the completion ceremony just before the first flight. The first flight is recorded to have departed Toulouse, France, for 3 hours and 23 minutes. Captain Pierre Bo (Vice President of Flight Division, Chief Test Pilot) and other executives selected by the company took control of the control.
Why did the A320 sell so far?
Airbus A320 rollout and maiden flight in February 1988 (Image: Airbus).
The Airbus A320, developed by Airbus and Europe with prestige, went into service on the Air France Paris-Dusseldorf-Berlin route in April 1988. In the same year, we were hit by an accident that caused a crash in a demo flight (the report concluded that the performance of the aircraft was not the cause), but we are steadily winning orders. After that, the A320 developed a number of variants according to the times and the needs of airlines, including the extended fuselage type "A321" and the shortened type "A319". As a result, the number of aircraft initially ordered was about 450, but in 2012, 5,000 were delivered to customers, and in 2020, the 10,000th was delivered to customers (including derivative models), making it the number one in the world. It became a mega-hit machine. Why did the A320 sell so explosively? Air France, the launch customer who received the first aircraft, made the following comments. "The A320 is designed to produce subtypes of various sizes, providing operating airlines with economic value in both maintenance and operation." Since the A320 is a completely new design, we were able to adopt a design that would fill in the challenges that could not be achieved by rival aircraft. For example, the A320 has long legs that can handle larger sizes, and can also be used to mount air cargo containers. Pilot licenses are also a common qualification for all variants (A320 family). All of this is in contrast to Boeing's rival 737, which diverted the design of the first passenger jet 707. One of the reasons why the A320 family has become a mega-hit aircraft is the introduction of innovative technology, and above all, the fact that it has become a passenger plane that "can reach the itchy place" for airlines, taking advantage of being a latecomer. maybe.
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