Editing Airbus A300 (section)

== Design ==
[[File:JAL A300-600R (JA014D) @Tokyo.jpg|thumb|The A300 is a conventional [[low wing]] aircraft with [[twinjet|twin]] underwing turbofans and a [[conventional tail]]]]

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.<ref name="airbus 30" /><ref name=Senguttuvan />{{rp|34}}<ref name=Pitt />{{rp|57, 60}}<ref name="tech lead" /> In 1977, the A300 became the first [[ETOPS|Extended Range Twin Operations]] (ETOPS)-compliant aircraft, due to its high performance and safety standards.<ref name=Simons />{{rp|40}} Another world-first of the A300 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.<ref name="tech lead" /> Other pioneering technology included the use of [[center of gravity of an aircraft|centre-of-gravity]] control, achieved by transferring fuel between various locations across the aircraft, as first used on [[Concorde]], and electrically signalled secondary flight controls.<ref name="airbus launch">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/first-order-first-flight-1970-1972/a300/ "A300: the aircraft that launched Airbus."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105931/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/first-order-first-flight-1970-1972/a300/ |date=4 March 2016 }} ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 3 March 2016.</ref>

The A300 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.<ref name=Pitt />{{rp|57}} 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 the [[vertical stabiliser]] and [[elevator (aeronautics)|elevator]], which had the effect of increasing the aircraft's flight performance and fuel efficiency.<ref name=Bowen />{{rp|50}}<ref name=NorWag />{{rp|21}}

[[File:Airbus 300B Flight Deck.jpg|thumb|The initial A300 flight deck with analog [[flight instruments]] and a flight engineer station (not shown)]]
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.<ref name="tech lead" /> Upon entry into service in 1974, 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 {{cvt|5.64|m|in|0}} diameter circular fuselage section allows an eight-abreast passenger seating and is wide enough for 2 [[LD3]] cargo containers side by side. Structures are made from metal [[billet (manufacturing)|billets]], reducing weight. It is the first airliner to be fitted with [[airborne wind shear detection and alert system|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 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.<ref name="airbus 30" /><ref name=NorWag />{{rp|23–24}}<ref name="airbus launch" /> [[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 [[Aircraft flight control system|flight control computers]] for controlling the [[Spoiler (aeronautics)|spoilers]], [[Flap (aeronautics)|flaps]], and [[leading-edge slats]], were also adopted upon later-built models.<ref name="tech lead">[http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/technology-leaders-1977-1979/ "Technology leaders (1977–1979)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925104335/http://www.airbus.com/company/history/the-narrative/technology-leaders-1977-1979/ |date=25 September 2015 }} ''Airbus'', Retrieved: 3 March 2016.</ref><ref>Tischler, Mark. B. ''Advances in Aircraft Flight Control.'' "CRC Press", 1996. {{ISBN|0-7484-0479-1}}, p. 219.</ref> 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 brake (aeronautics)|air brakes]], and [[landing gear]] doors.<ref>Park, Soo-Jin. ''Carbon Fibers''. "Springer", 2014. {{ISBN|94-017-9478-2}}, p. 257.</ref> Another feature of later aircraft was the addition of [[wingtip fence]]s, which improved aerodynamic performance and thus reduced cruise fuel consumption by about 1.5% for the A300-600.<ref>Airbus The European Triumph, Bill Gunston 1988, {{ISBN|085045820X}}, p. 113</ref>

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.<ref name="airbus launch" /> 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 [[airlift]]er, and [[VIP]] transport. Perhaps the most visually unique of the variants is the [[Airbus Beluga|A300-600ST Beluga]], an oversized cargo-carrying model operated by Airbus to carry aircraft sections between their manufacturing facilities.<ref name="airbus launch" /> The A300 was the basis for, and retained a high level of commonality with, the second airliner produced by Airbus, the smaller Airbus A310.<ref name="tech lead" />