iscover
Update – Airbus A330 & A340
0 comment
Airbus Industrie has released what should be the definitive specification for its wide body airliners of the 1990s and beyond, the twin-engined, medium/long-range A330 and the very long-range, four-engined A340. As described in the May 1986 edition of Australian Aviation, both aircraft share the twin aisle fuselage of the A300/310 series, combining that with various stretches and a high degree of new techno- logy including a variable camber wing for maximum efficiency in the cruise, automatic load alleviation and the A320 cockpit with large format CRT displays, sidestick controllers and a fly by wire (FBW) control system.
The detail specifications of both aircraft has changed since last year, but the major modification is to the A340, which will now use the IAE Superfan engine in place of the IAE V2500 or CFM56 turbofans as originally proposed.
A340 Features
This four-engined very long-range transport will now be available in two basic forms, the -200 with an overall length of 59. 4m (194ft 10in) and the -300 with a length of 62. 6m (205ft 4in). With a typical international three-class layout of 262 passengers, the A340-200 will be able to travel 7700nm (14,260km) with full passenger load, the -300 with 294 passengers will be capable of stage lengths of 7100nm (13,150km).
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
The announcement of the use of the 30,000lb+ thrust Superfan engine comes as no great surprise and had been rumoured for some time. There were doubts that the current IAE V2500 or CFM56 (at around 28,000lb) were capable of being developed to a sufficient thrust level to accommodate later higher gross weight versions of the A340 without major changes and therefore great cost. As a result the Superfan will now power all versions of the A340.
The engine uses the core of the IAE V2500 (which powers the A320) driving a large, front-mounted and geared ducted fan. The result is a very high bypass ratio which will offer fuel savings in the order of 12 percent over the best engines on offer today.
Even with the IAE V2500 engine, Airbus was claiming seat/ mile costs only fractionally worse than the Boeing 747-400 (the cheapest currently on offer by anyone) and use of the Superfan on the A340 will further improve this important yardstick.
Both versions of the A340 will be available as Combis and the aircraft is scheduled to enter service in April 1992. The A340 and A330 are being marketed as a single aircraft-in four and two-engined versions – and Airbus Industrie state they need five customers to launch the project. Negotiations are well advanced with several airlines and a launch announcement is considered imminent.
A330 Features
The twin-engined A330 has grown in recent months and will now feature a 62. 6m (205ft 4in) overall length, the same as for the A340-300. Powered by two CF6-80C2 (62,500lb thrust) or PW4160 (60,000lb thrust) engines, the A330 will accommodate a maximum of 375 passengers or more typically 328 in two classes for medium range operations or 286 in a two class, long- range configuration.
With a maximum takeoff weight of 449,700lb (204 tonne), the A340 will carry 328 passengers 5200nm (9630km).
Airbus Industrie is actively advancing the concept of the A330 and A340 being the same aeroplane, only with different engines. Apart from their engines and associated systems, the aircraft have common cockpits, fuselage, empennage, wing (apart from the outboard engine installation area) landing gear and systems. This high degree of commonality allows for simplified maintenance for an airline using both types and of coure, permits flight crew cross-qualifications.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
