About This File
FS2002 ProjectAI AAL American Airlines Airbus A306. During the mid-1960s, a number of European governments and aircraft manufacturers discussed the possibility of pooling resources to develop a short-range commercial jetliner. After studying a number of potential designs, attention focused on the HBN-100 being developed by Hawker Siddeley in Britain and Bregeut and Nord in France. Finally, France and West Germany agreed to proceed with the project forming what would become known as European Airbus. Eventually, the conglomerate would come to consist of Hawker Siddeley (now part of British Aerospace), Aerospatiale in France, DASA in Germany, and CASA in Spain with Fokker in the Netherlands and Belairbus in Belgium as major subcontractors. The first design they agreed to construct was a twin-engined wide-body airliner to fill a niche between the B707 and B727, seating between 220 and 330 passengers. This design would become known as the A300. Although of typical airliner layout with a cylindrical fuselage and mid-set swept-wing, the A300 incorporate a number of advanced features for its time, including a wing full of high-lift devices and quiet, fuel-efficient engines. Despite slow initial sales, the A300 gradually made inroads into the airline industry and was being operated throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America within a decade. Production of the upgraded A300-600 series continues with over 500 built by 2001. A300-600 with seating for 266 passengers in a two-class layout and a range of 4150 nautical miles.