Airbus A300

Airbus A300

The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner and european collaborative aerospace manufacturer Airbus was formally created on 18 December 1970. The 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). Initial variants are powered by General Electric CF6-50 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofans and have a three-crew flight deck. It made its first flight on 8 July 1983 and entered service later that year. Launch customer Air France introduced the type on 23 May 1974. 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 December 2022, there were 229 A300 family aircraft in commercial service.

Variants
A300B1  
The A300B1 was the first variant to take flight. It 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 the airliner. The second prototype was leased to Trans European Airways in 1974.

A300B2-100
The A300B2-100 was powered by CF6-50A and was 2.6 m (8.5 ft) longer than the A300B1, allowing for 30 additional seats and bringing 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 on 23 May 1974. 
A300B2-200
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 a high-lift system. The variant was powered by CF6-50C engines, and entered service in November 1976. 
A300B2-320 
The A300B2-320 introduced the Pratt & Whitney JT9D powerplant and was powered by JT9D-59A engines. It entered service on 18 February 1980, with only four being produced. 

A300B4-100 
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). The variant made its maiden flight on 26 December 1974, was certified on 26 March 1975, and entered service in May 1975.
A300B4-200 
The A300B4-200 featured an additional optional fuel tank in the rear cargo hold, which would reduce the cargo capacity by two LD3 containers.

A300-600  
The A300-600 shared the EFIS two-crew cockpit with the A310. 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. Other changes include an improved wing. The variant made its first flight on 8 July 1983 and entered service in June 1984. A total of 313 A300-600s have been sold. The A300-600 uses the A310 cockpits.
A300-620C
A convertible-freighter version. Four delivered between 1984 and 1985. 
A300-600F
The freighter version of the baseline −600.
A300-600R
The increased-range −600, achieved by an additional trim fuel tank in the tail. First delivery in 1988 to American Airlines; all A300s built since 1989 are −600Rs.
A300-600RC
The convertible-freighter version of the -600R. Two were delivered in 1999. 
A300-600RF
The freighter version of the −600R. All A300s delivered between November 2002 and 12 July 2007 were A300-600RFs. 

A300B10 (A310)  
The longer-range Airbus A310, 7 m (23 ft) shorter, was introduced in April 1983. 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 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 m2 (2,360 sq ft) wing, down from 260 m2 (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). Until the last delivery in June 1998, 255 aircraft were produced, as it was succeeded by the larger Airbus A330-200.  

A300-600ST  
The Airbus Beluga is based on the A300 with an oversized cargo hold on top, 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.