93-455: A250 may refer to: A former designation for the Airbus A300 aircraft A250 road (England) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
186-408: A Groupement d'intérêt économique would be established, allowing the various partners to work together on the project while remaining separate business entities. On 18 December 1970, Airbus Industrie was formally established following an agreement between Aérospatiale (the newly merged Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation ) of France and the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace of Germany, each receiving
279-675: A 37.5 per cent work share on the project, while the West Germans would receive a 25 per cent share. Sud Aviation was recognized as the lead contractor for the A300, with Hawker Siddeley being selected as the British partner company. At the time, the news of the announcement had been clouded by the British Government's support for the Airbus, which coincided with its refusal to back BAC's proposed competitor,
372-611: A 50 per cent stake in the newly formed company. In 1971, the consortium was joined by a third full partner, the Spanish firm CASA , who received a 4.2 per cent stake, the other two members reducing their stakes to 47.9 per cent each. In 1979, Britain joined the Airbus consortium via British Aerospace , which Hawker Siddeley had merged into, which acquired a 20 per cent stake in Airbus Industrie with France and Germany each reducing their stakes to 37.9 per cent. Airbus Industrie
465-574: A firm agreement on 29 May 1969, after the British withdrew from the project on 10 April 1969. A new collaborative aerospace company , Airbus Industrie GIE , was formally created on 18 December 1970 to develop and produce it. The A300 prototype first flew on 28 October 1972. The first twin-engine widebody airliner, the A300 typically seats 247 passengers in two classes over a range of 5,375 to 7,500 km (2,900 to 4,050 nmi; 3,340 to 4,660 mi). Initial variants are powered by General Electric CF6-50 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofans and have
558-523: A flight deck upgrade based around Honeywell Primus Epic avionics; new displays and flight management system (FMS), improved weather radar , a central maintenance system, and a new version of the current enhanced ground proximity warning system . With a light usage of only two to three cycles per day, it will not reach the maximum number of cycles by then. The first modification will be made at Airbus Toulouse in 2019 and certified in 2020. As of July 2017, there are 211 A300s in service with 22 operators, with
651-614: A high-lift system. This was done to improve performance when operating at high-altitude airports, where the air is less dense and lift generation is reduced. The variant had an increased MTOW of 142 t (313,000 lb) and was powered by CF6-50C engines, was certified on 23 June 1976, and entered service with South African Airways in November 1976. CF6-50C1 and CF6-50C2 models were also later fitted depending on customer requirements, these became certified on 22 February 1978 and 21 February 1980 respectively. The A300B2-320 introduced
744-463: A holding company known as Hawker Siddeley Group Plc after 1980. The group rationalised in the 1980s, focusing on railway engineering and signalling, industrial electronics and instrumentation and signalling equipment. Orenda Aerospace , the only remaining original company from the Avro Canada / Hawker Siddeley Canada era, although greatly diminished in size and scope of operations, became part of
837-502: A multinational airliner project to invigorate its aircraft industry, which had declined considerably following the Second World War . During the mid-1960s, both Air France and American Airlines had expressed interest in a short-haul twin-engine wide-body aircraft , indicating a market demand for such an aircraft to be produced. In July 1967, during a high-profile meeting between French, German, and British ministers, an agreement
930-525: A recambered trailing edge, the incorporation of simpler single-slotted Fowler flaps , the deletion of slat fences, and the removal of the outboard ailerons after they were deemed unnecessary on the A310. The variant made its first flight on 8 July 1983, was certified on 9 March 1984, and entered service in June 1984 with Saudi Arabian Airlines . A total of 313 A300-600s (all versions) have been sold. The A300-600 uses
1023-531: A similar high-lift system to what was later fitted to the A300B2-200. The variant made its maiden flight on 26 December 1974, was certified on 26 March 1975, and entered service with Germanair in May 1975. The A300B4-200 had an increased MTOW of 165 tonnes (364,000 lb) and featured an additional optional fuel tank in the rear cargo hold, which would reduce the cargo capacity by two LD3 containers. The variant
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#17328524878171116-420: A three-crew flight deck. The improved A300-600 has a two-crew cockpit and updated CF6-80C2 or PW4000 engines; it made its first flight on 8 July 1983 and entered service later that year. The A300 is the basis of the smaller A310 (first flown in 1982) and was adapted in a freighter version. Its cross section was retained for the larger four-engined A340 (1991) and the larger twin-engined A330 (1992). It
1209-410: A total of four aircraft, was relatively problem-free, accumulating 1,580 flight hours throughout. In September 1973, as part of promotional efforts for the A300, the new aircraft was taken on a six-week tour around North America and South America , to demonstrate it to airline executives, pilots, and would-be customers. Amongst the consequences of this expedition, it had allegedly brought the A300 to
1302-444: A two-pilot flight crew to fly the aircraft alone without the need for a flight engineer , the functions of which were automated; this two-man cockpit concept was a world-first for a wide-body aircraft. Glass cockpit flight instrumentation, which used cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors to display flight, navigation, and warning information, along with fully digital dual autopilots and digital flight control computers for controlling
1395-549: A vital market that was ready to be opened up and believed Korean Air to be the 'key'. Airlines operating the A300 on short-haul routes were forced to reduce frequencies to try and fill the aircraft. As a result, they lost passengers to airlines operating more frequent narrow-body flights. Eventually, Airbus had to build its own narrowbody aircraft (the A320 ) to compete with the Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9 / MD-80 . The saviour of
1488-423: Is also the basis for the oversize Beluga transport (1994). Unlike most Airbus products, it has a yoke , not using a fly-by-wire system. Launch customer Air France introduced the type on 23 May 1974. After limited demand initially, sales took off as the type was proven in early service, beginning three decades of steady orders. It has a similar capacity to the Boeing 767 -300, introduced in 1986, but lacked
1581-410: Is powered by a pair of underwing turbofan engines, either General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines; the sole use of underwing engine pods allowed for any suitable turbofan engine to be more readily used. The lack of a third tail-mounted engine, as per the trijet configuration used by some competing airliners, allowed for the wings to be located further forwards and to reduce the size of
1674-409: Is the use of composite materials on a commercial aircraft, which were used on both secondary and later primary airframe structures, decreasing overall weight and improving cost-effectiveness. Other firsts included the pioneering use of centre-of-gravity control, achieved by transferring fuel between various locations across the aircraft, and electrically signalled secondary flight controls. The A300
1767-507: Is wide enough for 2 LD3 cargo containers side by side. Structures are made from metal billets , reducing weight. It is the first airliner to be fitted with wind shear protection . Its advanced autopilots are capable of flying the aircraft from climb-out to landing, and it has an electrically controlled braking system. Later A300s incorporated other advanced features such as the Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit (FFCC), which enabled
1860-493: The Boeing 747 freighter. The A300 provided Airbus the experience of manufacturing and selling airliners competitively. The basic fuselage of the A300 was later stretched ( A330 and A340 ), shortened (A310), or modified into derivatives ( A300-600ST Beluga Super Transporter ). In 2006, unit cost of an −600F was $ 105 million. In March 2006, Airbus announced the impending closure of the A300/A310 final assembly line, making them
1953-502: The Canadian government , renaming the company A.V. Roe Canada, commonly known as Avro Canada , initially a wholly owned subsidiary of Hawker Siddeley. Avro Canada underwent a major expansion through aircraft development and acquisition of aircraft engine, mining, steel, railway rolling stock, computers, electronics, and other businesses to become, by 1958, Canada's third largest company directly employing over 14,000 people and providing 45% of
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#17328524878172046-491: The Far East . As a result, The aircraft found particular favor with Asian airlines, being bought by Japan Air System , Korean Air , China Eastern Airlines , Thai Airways International , Singapore Airlines , Malaysia Airlines , Philippine Airlines , Garuda Indonesia , China Airlines , Pakistan International Airlines , Indian Airlines , Trans Australia Airlines and many others. As Asia did not have restrictions similar to
2139-545: The Magellan Aerospace Corporation . The late 1980s also saw Hawker Siddeley divest itself of much of its other North American heavy manufacturing enterprises. Its Talladega , Alabama -based TreeFarmer heavy equipment business was sold to Franklin Equipment in 1990 and its Canadian rail car production facilities were split between SNC-Lavalin and Bombardier in 1992. In 1992, Hawker Siddeley Group Plc
2232-749: The Paris Air Show , French transport minister Jean Chamant and German economics minister Karl Schiller signed an agreement officially launching the Airbus A300, the world's first twin-engine widebody airliner. The intention of the project was to produce an aircraft that was smaller, lighter, and more economical than its three-engine American rivals, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar . In order to meet Air France's demands for an aircraft larger than 250-seat A300B, it
2325-684: The Pratt & Whitney JT9D powerplant and was powered by JT9D-59A engines. It retained the 142 t (313,000 lb) MTOW of the B2-200, was certified on 4 January 1980, and entered service with Scandinavian Airlines on 18 February 1980, with only four being produced. The initial A300B4 variant, later named the A300B4-100, included a centre fuel tank for an increased fuel capacity of 47.5 tonnes (105,000 lb), and had an increased MTOW of 157.5 tonnes (347,000 lb). It also featured Krueger flaps and had
2418-748: The Royal Naval College in Greenwich , London. In 1948, Hawker Siddeley acquired a factory in Kingston upon Thames , Surrey , on the Richmond Road near Ham . This was to become their main aircraft factory and headquarters. In 1957, Hawker Siddeley purchased the Brush group of companies that included Brush Electrical Machines , and Brush Traction , which manufactures electromotive equipment and railway locomotives . The Brush prototype locomotives Falcon , and
2511-469: The aero engine business, Armstrong Siddeley was merged with that of the Bristol Aero Engines to form Bristol Siddeley . In the late 1950s, the British government decided that with the decreasing number of aircraft contracts being offered, it was better to merge the existing companies, of which there were about 15 surviving at this point, into several much larger firms. Out of this decision, came
2604-519: The spoilers , flaps , and leading-edge slats , were also adopted upon later-built models. Additional composites were also made use of, such as carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), as well as their presence in an increasing proportion of the aircraft's components, including the spoilers, rudder , air brakes , and landing gear doors. Another feature of later aircraft was the addition of wingtip fences , which improved aerodynamic performance and thus reduced cruise fuel consumption by about 1.5% for
2697-441: The vertical stabiliser and elevator , which had the effect of increasing the aircraft's flight performance and fuel efficiency. Airbus partners had employed the latest technology, some of which having been derived from Concorde , on the A300. According to Airbus, new technologies adopted for the airliner were selected principally for increased safety, operational capability, and profitability. Upon entry into service in 1974,
2790-418: The "order" that all future contracts being offered had to include agreements to merge companies. In 1959, Folland Aircraft was acquired, followed by de Havilland Aircraft Company and Blackburn Aircraft in 1960. In 1963, the names of the constituent companies were dropped, with products being rebranded as " Hawker Siddeley " or " HS ". In this period, the company developed the first operational, and, by far,
2883-549: The 767-300ER range. During the 1990s, the A300 became popular with cargo aircraft operators, as both passenger airliner conversions and as original builds. Production ceased in July 2007 after 561 deliveries. As of September 2023 , there are 197 A300 family aircraft still in commercial service. During the 1960s, European aircraft manufacturers such as Hawker Siddeley and the British Aircraft Corporation , based in
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2976-563: The A300 and the A310 at that time. On 31 May 2014, China Eastern officially retired the last A300-600 in its fleet, having begun drawing down the type in 2010. From 1997 to 2014, a single A300, designated A300 Zero-G , was operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a reduced-gravity aircraft for conducting research into microgravity ;
3069-433: The A300 is the largest aircraft to ever have been used in this capacity. A typical flight would last for two and a half hours, enabling up to 30 parabolas to be performed per flight. By the 1990s, the A300 was being heavily promoted as a cargo freighter. The largest freight operator of the A300 is FedEx Express , which has 65 A300 aircraft in service as of May 2022. UPS Airlines also operates 52 freighter versions of
3162-422: The A300 was a very advanced plane, which went on to influence later airliner designs. The technological highlights include advanced wings by de Havilland (later BAE Systems ) with supercritical airfoil sections for economical performance and advanced aerodynamically efficient flight control surfaces . The 5.64 m (222 in) diameter circular fuselage section allows an eight-abreast passenger seating and
3255-472: The A300 was the advent of ETOPS, a revised FAA rule which allows twin-engine jets to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to them. This enabled Airbus to develop the aircraft as a medium/long-range airliner. In 1977, US carrier Eastern Air Lines leased four A300s as an in-service trial. CEO Frank Borman was impressed that the A300 consumed 30% less fuel, even less than expected, than Eastern's fleet of L-1011s . The A300 would replacing
3348-470: The A300-600. In addition to passenger duties, the A300 became widely used by air freight operators; according to Airbus, it is the best-selling freight aircraft of all time. Various variants of the A300 were built to meet customer demands, often for diverse roles such as aerial refueling tankers, freighter models (new-build and conversions), combi aircraft , military airlifter , and VIP transport. Perhaps
3441-459: The A300. The final version was the A300-600R and is rated for 180-minute ETOPS. The A300 has enjoyed renewed interest in the secondhand market for conversion to freighters; large numbers were being converted during the late 1990s. The freighter versions – either new-build A300-600s or converted ex-passenger A300-600s, A300B2s and B4s – account for most of the world's freighter fleet after
3534-478: The A300B4 one year later. Initially, the success of the consortium was poor, in part due to the economic consequences of the 1973 oil crisis , but by 1979 there were 81 A300 passenger liners in service with 14 airlines, alongside 133 firm orders and 88 options. Ten years after the official launch of the A300, the company had achieved a 26 per cent market share in terms of dollar value, enabling Airbus to proceed with
3627-461: The A300B4-200FFCC with the newly Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit concept, the world's first wide-body aircraft that only operated by two-man cockpit crew. By 1981, Airbus was growing rapidly, with over 400 aircraft sold to over forty airlines. In 1989, Chinese operator China Eastern Airlines received its first A300; by 2006, the airline operated around 18 A300s, making it the largest operator of both
3720-552: The A310 cockpits, featuring digital technology and electronic displays, eliminating the need for a flight engineer. The FAA issues a single type rating which allows operation of both the A310 and A300-600. Airbus had demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300. On 7 July 1978, the A310 (initially the A300B10) was launched with orders from Swissair and Lufthansa. On 3 April 1982, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight and it received its type certification on 11 March 1983. Keeping
3813-524: The BAC 2–11, despite a preference for the latter expressed by British European Airways (BEA). Another parameter was the requirement for a new engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce to power the proposed airliner; a derivative of the in-development Rolls-Royce RB211 , the triple-spool RB207, capable of producing of 47,500 lbf (211 kN). The programme cost was US$ 4.6 billion (in 1993 dollars, equivalent to $ 8.76 billion in 2023). In December 1968,
A250 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3906-554: The FAA 60-minutes rule for twin-engine airliners which existed at the time, Asian airlines used A300s for routes across the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea . In 1977, the A300B4 became the first ETOPS compliant aircraft, qualifying for Extended Twin Engine Operations over water, providing operators with more versatility in routing. In 1982 Garuda Indonesia became the first airline to fly
3999-536: The French and British partner companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) proposed a revised configuration, the 250-seat Airbus A250. It had been feared that the original 300-seat proposal was too large for the market, thus it had been scaled down to produce the A250. The dimensional changes involved in the shrink reduced the length of the fuselage by 5.62 metres (18.4 ft) and the diameter by 0.8 metres (31 in), reducing
4092-674: The Orange Line in 1980–81. Hawker Siddeley also manufactured much of the Toronto subway system's older rolling stock , the H5 and H6 models . The heavy rail manufacturing business, based in Mississauga and Thunder Bay , Ontario, are now part of Alstom . MBTA also bought a number of commuter rail coaches from the German firm Messerschmitt , thereby teaming Hawker Siddeley with its old World War II rival under
4185-675: The UK, and Sud Aviation of France, had ambitions to build a new 200-seat airliner for the growing civil aviation market. While studies were performed and considered, such as a stretched twin-engine variant of the Hawker Siddeley Trident and an expanded development of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) One-Eleven , designated the BAC Two-Eleven , it was recognized that if each of the European manufacturers were to launch similar aircraft into
4278-617: The US market, it was decided that General Electric CF6-50 engines would power the A300 in place of the British RB207; these engines would be produced in co-operation with French firm Snecma . By this time, Rolls-Royce had been concentrating their efforts upon developing their RB211 turbofan engine instead and progress on the RB207's development had been slow for some time, the firm having suffered due to funding limitations, both of which had been factors in
4371-451: The aging DC-9s and 727-100s but in smaller numbers, while being a twinjet sized between the Tristars and 727-200s, and capable of operating from short runway airports with sufficient range from New York City to Miami. Borman proceeded to order 23 A300s, becoming the first U.S. customer for the type. This order is often cited as the point at which Airbus came to be seen as a serious competitor to
4464-482: The airliner. The second prototype was leased to Trans European Airways in 1974. Responding to a need for more seats from Air France , Airbus decided that the first production variant should be larger than the original prototype A300B1. The CF6-50A powered A300B2-100 was 2.6 m (8.5 ft) longer than the A300B1 and had an increased MTOW of 137 t (302,000 lb), allowing for 30 additional seats and bringing
4557-520: The attention of Frank Borman , the CEO of Eastern Airlines , one of the "big four" U.S. airlines. On 15 March 1974, type certificates were granted for the A300 from both German and French authorities, clearing the way for its entry into revenue service. On 23 May 1974, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was received. The first production model, the A300B2, entered service in 1974, followed by
4650-468: The cancellation of the Arrow, the company began to unravel. In 1962, A.V. Roe Canada was dissolved and the remaining assets were transferred to the now defunct Hawker Siddeley Canada . In 1948, the company name was changed to Hawker Siddeley Group . The aircraft division became Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA) and the guided missile and space technology operations as Hawker Siddeley Dynamics (HSD). In 1959,
4743-526: The company's long-term success. On 26 September 1967, the French, West German and British governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start the development of the 300-seat Airbus A300. At this point, the A300 was only the second major joint aircraft programme in Europe, the first being the Anglo-French Concorde . Under the terms of the memorandum, the French and British were to each receive
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#17328524878174836-467: The control systems, and lower-centre portion of the fuselage, Hawker Siddeley would manufacture the wings, while German companies would produce the forward, rear and upper part of the center fuselage sections. Additional work included moving elements of the wings being produced in the Netherlands , and Spain producing the horizontal tail plane. An early design goal for the A300 that Béteille had stressed
4929-458: The developing aircraft, as well against using Metric instrumentation and measurements, as most airlines already had US-built aircraft. These decisions were partially influenced by feedback from various airlines, such as Air France and Lufthansa , as an emphasis had been placed on determining the specifics of what kind of aircraft that potential operators were seeking. According to Airbus, this cultural approach to market research had been crucial to
5022-506: The development of its second aircraft, the Airbus A310 . The Airbus A300 is a wide-body medium-to-long range airliner ; it has the distinction of being the first twin-engine wide-body aircraft in the world. In 1977, the A300 became the first Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS)-compliant aircraft, due to its high performance and safety standards. Another world-first of the A300
5115-493: The engine switch decision. On 10 April 1969, a few months after the decision to drop the RB207 had been announced, the British government announced that they would withdraw from the Airbus venture. In response, West Germany proposed to France that they would be willing to contribute up to 50% of the project's costs if France was prepared to do the same. Additionally, the managing director of Hawker Siddeley, Sir Arnold Alexander Hall , decided that his company would remain in
5208-500: The first Airbus aircraft to be discontinued. The final production A300, an A300F freighter, performed its initial flight on 18 April 2007, and was delivered to FedEx Express on 12 July 2007. Airbus has announced a support package to keep A300s flying commercially. Airbus offers the A330-200F freighter as a replacement for the A300 cargo variants. The life of UPS's fleet of 52 A300s, delivered from 2000 to 2006, will be extended to 2035 by
5301-431: The flight testing of the A300B2, Airbus held a series of talks with Korean Air on the topic of developing a longer-range version of the A300, which would become the A300B4. In September 1974, Korean Air placed an order for four A300B4s with options for two further aircraft; this sale was viewed as significant as it was the first non-European international airline to order Airbus aircraft. Airbus had viewed South-East Asia as
5394-467: The futuristic but over-weight HS4000 'Kestrel' , were produced there. Other railway engineering assets were acquired, including Westinghouse Brake & Signal and the engine builder Mirrlees Blackstone , which came with the Brush businesses. In the early 1970s, Hawker Siddeley's Canada Car and Foundry subsidiary began to build rapid transit vehicles for the North American market. The first order
5487-806: The group. During the Second World War, Hawker Siddeley was one of the United Kingdom's most important aviation concerns, producing numerous designs including the famous Hawker Hurricane fighter plane that, along with the Supermarine Spitfire , was Britain's front-line defence in the Battle of Britain . During this campaign, Hurricanes outnumbered all other British fighters combined in service, and were responsible for shooting down 55 per cent of all enemy aircraft destroyed. In 1945, Hawker Siddeley purchased Victory Aircraft of Malton , Ontario , Canada from
5580-405: The importance of was the incorporation of a high level of technology, which would serve as a decisive advantage over prospective competitors. For this reason, the A300 would feature the first use of composite materials of any passenger aircraft, the leading and trailing edges of the tail fin being composed of glass fibre reinforced plastic . Béteille opted for English as the working language for
5673-411: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A250&oldid=932668549 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is Airbus' first production aircraft and
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#17328524878175766-473: The large American aircraft-manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas . Aviation author John Bowen alleged that various concessions, such as loan guarantees from European governments and compensation payments, were a factor in the decision as well. Although the A300 was originally too large for Eastern's exiting routes, Airbus provided a fixed subsidy for a 57% load factor which decreased for every percent above that figure. The Eastern Air Lines breakthrough
5859-407: The largest operator being FedEx Express with 68 A300-600F aircraft. The A300B1 was the first variant to take flight. It had a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 132 t (291,000 lb), was 51 m (167 ft) long and was powered by two General Electric CF6-50A engines. Only two prototypes of the variant were built before it was adapted into the A300B2, the first production variant of
5952-410: The manufacturing sites were more than two hours away. Having the sections airlifted in this manner made the A300 the first airliner to use just-in-time manufacturing techniques, and allowed each company to manufacture its sections as fully equipped, ready-to-fly assemblies. In September 1969, construction of the first prototype A300 began. On 28 September 1972, this first prototype was unveiled to
6045-515: The market at the same time, neither would achieve sales volume needed to make them viable. In 1965, a British government study, known as the Plowden Report, had found British aircraft production costs to be between 10% and 20% higher than American counterparts due to shorter production runs, which was in part due to the fractured European market. To overcome this factor, the report recommended the pursuit of multinational collaborative projects between
6138-570: The most successful VTOL jet aircraft, the Harrier family . This aircraft remained in production into the 1990s and remains in service. The Hawker Siddeley Nuclear Power Company built and operated the 10 kW JASON reactor in Langley, Berkshire (then in Buckinghamshire). The reactor was in operation there from 1959 to 1962 and generated a total of 1.4 MWh before being shut down and transported to
6231-480: The most visually unique of the variants is the A300-600ST Beluga , an oversized cargo-carrying model operated by Airbus to carry aircraft sections between their manufacturing facilities. The A300 was the basis for, and retained a high level of commonality with, the second airliner produced by Airbus, the smaller Airbus A310. On 23 May 1974, the first A300 to enter service performed the first commercial flight of
6324-471: The name is Hawker Siddeley Power Transformers. In 1993, British Aerospace sold its corporate jet product line to the American Raytheon Company . In 2006 the product line was sold to a new company to be known as Hawker Beechcraft , owned by Onex Partners and Goldman Sachs . The Hawker Siddeley name was not used to brand aircraft until 1963. Prior to then, aircraft were produced under
6417-461: The overall weight by 25 tonnes (55,000 lb). For increased flexibility, the cabin floor was raised so that standard LD3 freight containers could be accommodated side-by-side, allowing more cargo to be carried. Refinements made by Hawker Siddeley to the wing's design provided for greater lift and overall performance; this gave the aircraft the ability to climb faster and attain a level cruising altitude sooner than any other passenger aircraft. It
6510-531: The parent company's revenues. During its operation, Avro Canada aircraft (built) included the C102 Jetliner , CF-100 Canuck , CF-105 Arrow and VZ-9- AV Avrocar . Only the CF-100 fighter entered full-scale production. Other design projects (not built) included supersonic transport (SST) passenger aircraft, a mach-2 VTOL fighter, hovercraft, a jet engine-powered tank, and the hypersonic Space Threshold Vehicle. After
6603-441: The partner companies scattered across Europe to this one location. The combined use of ferries and roads were used for the assembly of the first A300, however this was time-consuming and not viewed as ideal by Felix Kracht , Airbus Industrie's production director. Kracht's solution was to have the various A300 sections brought to Toulouse by a fleet of Boeing 377 -derived Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft, by which means none of
6696-453: The project as a favoured sub-contractor, developing and manufacturing the wings for the A300, which would prove to be an important contributor to the performance of subsequent versions. Hawker Siddeley spent £35 million of its own funds, along with a further £35 million loan from the West German government, on the machine tooling to design and produce the wings. On 29 May 1969, during
6789-463: The public, it conducted its maiden flight from Toulouse–Blagnac International Airport on 28 October that year. This maiden flight, which was performed a month ahead of schedule, lasted for one hour and 25 minutes; the captain was Max Fischl and the first officer was Bernard Ziegler, son of Henri Ziegler. In 1972, unit cost was US$ 17.5M. On 5 February 1973, the second prototype performed its maiden flight. The flight test programme, which involved
6882-518: The region's leading aircraft manufacturers. European manufacturers were keen to explore prospective programmes; the proposed 260-seat wide-body HBN 100 between Hawker Siddeley, Nord Aviation , and Breguet Aviation being one such example. National governments were also keen to support such efforts amid a belief that American manufacturers could dominate the European Economic Community ; in particular, Germany had ambitions for
6975-580: The same eight-abreast cross-section, the A310 is 6.95 m (22.8 ft) shorter than the initial A300 variants, and has a smaller 219 m (2,360 sq ft) wing, down from 260 m (2,800 sq ft). The A310 introduced a two-crew glass cockpit, later adopted for the A300-600 with a common type rating . It was powered by the same GE CF6-80 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D then PW4000 turbofans. It can seat 220 passengers in two classes, or 240 in all-economy, and can fly up to 5,150 nmi (9,540 km; 5,930 mi). It has overwing exits between
7068-531: The same organisation. On 29 April 1977, as a result of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 , Hawker Siddeley Aviation and Dynamics were nationalised and merged with British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and Scottish Aviation to form British Aerospace . However, HSA and HSD accounted for only 25% of the Hawker Siddeley business by this time, and the non-aviation and foreign interests were retained by
7161-425: The two main front and rear door pairs. In April 1983, the aircraft entered revenue service with Swissair and competed with the Boeing 767–200 , introduced six months before. Its longer range and ETOPS regulations allowed it to be operated on transatlantic flights . Until the last delivery in June 1998, 255 aircraft were produced, as it was succeeded by the larger Airbus A330-200. It has cargo aircraft versions, and
7254-434: The type, flying from Paris to London, for Air France. Immediately after the launch, sales of the A300 were weak for some years, with most orders going to airlines that had an obligation to favor the domestically made product – notably Air France and Lufthansa, the first two airlines to place orders for the type. Following the appointment of Bernard Lathière as Henri Ziegler's replacement, an aggressive sales approach
7347-547: The typical passenger count up to 281, with capacity for 20 LD3 containers. Two prototypes were built and the variant made its maiden flight on 28 June 1973, became certified on 15 March 1974 and entered service with Air France on 23 May 1974. For the A300B2-200, originally designated as the A300B2K, Krueger flaps were introduced at the leading-edge root, the slat angles were reduced from 20 degrees to 16 degrees, and other lift related changes were made in order to introduce
7440-519: The world's first twin-engine , double-aisle (wide-body) airliner . It was developed by Airbus Industrie GIE , now merged into Airbus SE , and manufactured from 1971 to 2007. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in France , West Germany and the United Kingdom signed an initial memorandum of understanding to collaborate to develop an innovative large airliner. The French and West Germans reached
7533-600: Was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production . Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of only two such major British companies in the 1960s. In 1977, Hawker Siddeley became a founding component of the nationalised British Aerospace (BAe). Hawker Siddeley also operated in other industrial markets, such as locomotive building (through its ownership of Brush Traction ) and diesel engine manufacture (through its ownership of Lister Petter ). The company
7626-554: Was acquired by BTR plc for £1.5bn. This was led by Alan Jackson and Sir Owen Green who were the CEO and Chairman of BTR respectively during this time. Through a series of takeovers, the business units finally became part of Schneider Electric in 2014. In 1973, HS acquired the industrial electronics firm South Wales Switchgear . Later known as Aberdare Holdings, in 1992 this company was renamed Hawker Siddeley Switchgear (HSS). They have an Australian subsidiary, Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Australia . Another company which retains
7719-449: Was adopted. Indian Airlines was the world's first domestic airline to purchase the A300, ordering three aircraft with three options. However, between December 1975 and May 1977, there were no sales for the type. During this period a number of "whitetail" A300s – completed but unsold aircraft – were completed and stored at Toulouse, and production fell to half an aircraft per month amid calls to pause production completely. During
7812-415: Was appointed as the technical director of what would become the A300 programme, while Henri Ziegler , chief operating office of Sud Aviation, was appointed as the general manager of the organisation and German politician Franz Josef Strauss became the chairman of the supervisory board. Béteille drew up an initial work share plan for the project, under which French firms would produce the aircraft's cockpit,
7905-604: Was certified on 26 April 1979. The A300-600, officially designated as the A300B4-600, was slightly longer than the A300B2 and A300B4 variants and had an increased interior space from using a similar rear fuselage to the Airbus A310 , this allowed it to have two additional rows of seats. It was initially powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4H1 engines, but was later fitted with General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, with Pratt & Whitney PW4156 or PW4158 engines being introduced in 1986. Other changes include an improved wing featuring
7998-512: Was decided to stretch the fuselage to create a new variant, designated as the A300B2, which would be offered alongside the original 250-seat A300B, henceforth referred to as the A300B1. On 3 September 1970, Air France signed a letter of intent for six A300s, marking the first order to be won for the new airliner. In the aftermath of the Paris Air Show agreement, it was decided that, in order to provide effective management of responsibilities,
8091-791: Was derived into the Airbus A310 MRTT military tanker/transport. Commonly referred to as the Airbus Beluga or "Airbus Super Transporter", these five airframes are used by Airbus to ferry parts between the company's disparate manufacturing facilities, thus enabling workshare distribution. They replaced the four Aero Spacelines Super Guppys previously used by Airbus. ICAO code : A3ST As of September 2023 , there are 197 A300 family aircraft in commercial service. The five largest operators were FedEx Express (70), UPS Airlines (52), European Air Transport Leipzig (23), Iran Air (11), and Mahan Air (11). Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley
8184-701: Was for the Port Authority Trans-Hudson line and consisted of 46 PA-3 cars numbers 724–769, which were largely based on the original hexagonal profile PA-1 & PA-2 cars designed and built by the St. Louis Car Company during 1966–67. Hawker Siddeley later sold the same general design to the MBTA in Boston for their Blue and Orange Lines . 70 48' cars were delivered to the Blue Line in 1978–80 and 120 65' cars were delivered to
8277-511: Was initially headquartered in Paris , which is where design, development, flight testing, sales, marketing, and customer support activities were centred; the headquarters was relocated to Toulouse in January 1974. The final assembly line for the A300 was located adjacent to Toulouse Blagnac International Airport . The manufacturing process necessitated transporting each aircraft section being produced by
8370-530: Was later renamed the A300B. Perhaps the most significant change of the A300B was that it would not require new engines to be developed, being of a suitable size to be powered by Rolls-Royce's RB211, or alternatively the American Pratt & Whitney JT9D and General Electric CF6 powerplants; this switch was recognized as considerably reducing the project's development costs. To attract potential customers in
8463-398: Was made for greater cooperation between European nations in the field of aviation technology, and "for the joint development and production of an airbus". The word airbus at this point was a generic aviation term for a larger commercial aircraft, and was considered acceptable in multiple languages, including French . Shortly after the July 1967 meeting, French engineer Roger Béteille
8556-632: Was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . Hawker Siddeley Aircraft was formed in 1935 as a result of the purchase by Hawker Aircraft of the companies of J. D. Siddeley , the automotive and engine builder Armstrong Siddeley and the aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft . At this time, Hawker Siddeley also acquired A.V. Roe & Company (Avro), Gloster Aircraft Company (Gloster) and Air Training Services. The constituent companies continued to produce their own aircraft designs under their own name as well as sharing manufacturing work throughout
8649-458: Was shortly followed by an order from Pan Am . From then on, the A300 family sold well, eventually reaching a total of 561 delivered aircraft. In December 1977, Aerocondor Colombia became the first Airbus operator in Latin America , leasing one Airbus A300B4-2C, named Ciudad de Barranquilla . During the late 1970s, Airbus adopted a so-called ' Silk Road ' strategy, targeting airlines in
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