Editing Airbus A300 (section)

=== Origins ===
[[File:Hawker-Nord-Breguet HBN100.png|thumb|In 1966, [[Hawker Siddeley]], [[Nord Aviation]], and [[Breguet Aviation]] proposed the 260-seat [[wide-body]] ''HBN 100'' with a similar configuration]]

During the 1960s, European aircraft manufacturers such as [[Hawker Siddeley]] and the [[British Aircraft Corporation]], based in 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 Three-Eleven|BAC Two-Eleven]], it was recognized that if each of the European manufacturers were to launch similar aircraft into the market at the same time, neither would achieve sales volume needed to make them viable.<ref name="early days">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/early-days-1967-1969/ "Early days (1967–1969)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705195621/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/early-days-1967-1969/ |date=5 July 2011 }} ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016.</ref> 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 the region's leading aircraft manufacturers.<ref name=Bowen>Bowen, John T. ''The Economic Geography of Air Transportation: Space, Time, and the Freedom of the Sky.'' "Business & Economics", 2010. {{ISBN|1-135-15657-3}}, pp. 49–53.</ref>{{rp|49}}<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/feb/01/aircraft-industry-plowden-report "Aircraft Industry (Plowden Report)."] ''[[Hansard]]'', February 1966. vol 723, cc 890–1016.</ref><ref name=ITC>{{cite book|author=U.S. International Trade Commission|title=Global Competitiveness of U. S. Advanced-Technology Manufacturing Industries: Large Civil Aircraft|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iMN_GHp-iEkC|date=October 1995|publisher=DianePublishing|isbn=978-0-7881-2526-3|series=Investigation No. 332-332, Publication 2667}} pp. 2–16.</ref>{{rp|2–13}}

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.<ref name="early days" /><ref name=Simons>Simons, Graham. ''The Airbus A380: A History.'' "Pen and Sword", 2014. {{ISBN|1-78303-041-0}}, pp. 37–40.</ref>{{rp|37–38}} National governments were also keen to support such efforts amid a belief that American manufacturers could dominate the [[European Economic Community]];<ref>Chorafas, Dimitris N. ''The Business of Europe is Politics: Business Opportunity, Economic Nationalism and the Decaying Atlantic Alliance.'' Gower Publishing, 2012. {{ISBN|1-4094-5959-4}} p. 292.</ref> in particular, Germany had ambitions for a multinational airliner project to invigorate its aircraft industry, which had declined considerably following the [[Second World War]].<ref name=Bowen />{{rp|49–50}} 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.<ref name=Bowen /><ref name="airbus 30">[https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-at-thirty-family-planning-124235/ "Airbus at thirty – Family planning."] ''Flight International'', 2 January 2001.</ref> In July 1967, during a high-profile meeting between French, German, and British ministers, an agreement was made for greater cooperation between European nations in the field of aviation technology, and "for the joint development and production of an airbus".<ref name="early days" /><ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}} 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 language|French]].<ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}}

[[File:28.10.72 1er Vol d'Airbus (1972) - 53Fi1992 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Technical director [[Roger Béteille]] (from behind) discussing with general manager [[Henri Ziegler]] beside the [[CF6]] turbofan, which powered the A300 first flight]]

Shortly after the July 1967 meeting, French engineer [[Roger Béteille]] 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.<ref name="early days" /> Béteille drew up an initial work share plan for the project, under which French firms would produce the aircraft's cockpit, 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.<ref name="early days" /><ref name=Simons />{{rp|38}}

An early design goal for the A300 that Béteille had stressed 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 material|composite]] materials of any passenger aircraft, the leading and trailing edges of the tail fin being composed of [[Fiberglass|glass fibre reinforced plastic]].<ref name=ITC />{{rp|2–16}}<ref name="first order flight" /> Béteille opted for English as the working language for the developing aircraft, as well against using [[Metric system|Metric]] instrumentation and measurements, as most airlines already had US-built aircraft.<ref name="first order flight" /> 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 the company's long-term success.<ref name="first order flight">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/first-order-first-flight-1970-1972/ "First order, first flight (1970–1972)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401095900/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/first-order-first-flight-1970-1972/ |date=1 April 2015 }} ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 28 February 2016.</ref>