Editing Airbus A310 (section)

== Design ==
[[File:Biman Airbus A310 Lofting-1.jpg|thumb|The A310 has front and rear main doors, and a smaller emergency exit wing door over the wing.]]
[[File:Airbus A310-304, Lufthansa AN0422291.jpg|thumb|2-4-2 economy cabin]]
[[File:Airbus A310-304-MRTT, Germany - Air Force AN1733919.jpg|thumb|Two-crew cockpit]]

The Airbus A310 was a medium- to long-range [[Twinjet|twin-engined]] [[Wide-body aircraft|wide-body]] [[jet airliner]].  Initially a derivative of the A300, the aircraft had originally been designated the ''A300B10''.  It was essentially a shortened variant of the earlier aircraft; however, there were considerable differences between the two aircraft.<ref name=A310-success-1982 />  Specifically, the fuselage possessed the same cross-section, but being shorter than the A300, it provided capacity for a typical maximum of 200&nbsp;passengers.  The rear fuselage was heavily re-designed, featuring altered [[tapering (mathematics)|tapering]], while involved a move aft of the rear bulkhead to create additional capacity; this same design change was later transferred back to later variants of the A300, such as the A300-600 and A330/A340 fuselages.<ref name=A310-success-1982 />  The A310 also had a different emergency exit configuration, consisting of four main doors (two at the front and two at the rear of the aircraft), and two smaller doors over the wings.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

The wing of the A310 was redesigned, possessing a reduced [[Wing span|span]] and wing area, and incorporating simpler single-slotted Fowler [[Flap (aeronautics)|flaps]] designed by [[British Aerospace]] shortly following its decision to join the Airbus consortium.<ref name=A310-success-1982 />  Other changes to the wing included the elimination of the outer [[ailerons]], which were occasionally referred to by the manufacturer as being "low speed ailerons", and the addition of electrically actuated [[Spoiler (aeronautics)|spoilers]].  The wing also featured common pylons, which were able to support all types of engines that were offered to customers to power the airliner.<ref name=A310-success-1982 />  From 1985 onwards, the A310-300 introduced [[Wingtip device#Wingtip fence|wingtip fences]] which reduced [[lift-induced drag|vortex drag]] and thus improved cruise fuel consumption by over 1.5%.<ref>Airbus The European Triumph, Bill Gunston 1988,{{ISBN|0 85045 820 X}}, p.113</ref>  A limited number of alterations were also performed to the airliner's tail unit, such as the adoption of smaller horizontal tail surfaces.<ref name=A310-success-1982 />

The A310 was furnished with a two-crew [[glass cockpit]] configuration as standard, removing the requirement for a [[flight engineer]]; Airbus referred to this concept as the ''Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit''.<ref name=Tech-lead />  The company had developed the cockpit to significantly enhance the aircraft's man-machine interface, thereby improving operational safety.  It was outfitted with an array of six computer-based [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) displays to provide the flight crew with centralised navigational, warning, monitoring, and general flight information, in place of the more traditional [[Analog signal|analogue]] instrumentation and dials, which were used in conjunction with a range of modern electronic systems.<ref name=Tech-lead />  The same flight deck was incorporated into the A300-600, a move which increased commonality between the two types, and enabled a dual type rating to be achieved, this same approach was later used on many future Airbus aircraft.  In addition to the two flying crew, provisions for third and fourth crew seats were present within the flight deck.<ref name=Tech-lead />

The A310 was initially proposed with a choice of three engines: the General Electric CF6-80A1, the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D1, and the Rolls-Royce RB211-524.<ref>Airbus The European Triumph, Bill Gunston 1988,{{ISBN|0 85045 820 X}},  p.97</ref> The A310 was launched with the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D1 or the General Electric CF6-80A3. Subsequently available were the {{cvt|53500|lbf|kN|lk=on}} CF6-80C2A2 or the {{cvt|52000|lbf|kN|lk=on}}PW4152. From late 1991 the higher thrust {{cvt|59000|lbf|kN}} CF6-80C2A8 or {{cvt|56000|lbf|kN}}PW4156A became available.<ref>Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1992-93,{{ISBN|0 7106 0987 6}}, p.93</ref>

The A310 was equipped with a modified [[landing gear|undercarriage]], derived from the A300; the landing gear were outfitted with [[Reinforced carbon–carbon|carbon]] [[disc brake|brakes]], which were fitted as standard.<ref name=A310-success-1982 />  The structure of the airliner featured a high level of [[composite material]]s throughout both primary and secondary structures, increased beyond that of the earlier A300.  The A310 is outfitted with integrated drive electrical [[Electric generator|generators]] along with [[Auxiliary power unit#Transport aircraft|auxiliary power unit]], which were improved versions of those used on the A300.<ref name=A310-success-1982>"A310 Europe builds on Airbus success." ''[[Flight International]],'' 27 February 1982.</ref>