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Information about Wide Body Aircraft



A wide-body aircraft is a large airliner with a fuselage diameter of 5 to 6 metres (16 to 20 ft). In common terms, it refers to an aircraft with twin aisles inside the cabin. Passengers are usually seated 7 to 10 abreast. For comparison, a traditional narrow-body airliner has a diameter of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft), a single aisle, and seats arranged 2 to 6 abreast. Typical wide-body aircraft can accommodate between 200 and 600 passengers, while the largest narrow-bodies carry about 280. Freight or cargo wide-bodies also exist.

History

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Boeing 747, the first wide-body, operated by Pan American, with a fuselage diameter of 256 inches in the constant section
Following the success of the Boeing 707 (with 148 inch fuselage) and Douglas DC-8 (with 163 inch fuselage) in the late 1950s, airlines began asking for larger aircraft to meet the rising demand for air travel. Engineers were faced with many challenges as airlines wanted more seats, more range, and lower operating cost. One of the most significant difficulties was selecting a fuselage configuration suitable for more than 200 passengers.

Early jet aircraft like the 707 and DC-8 seated passengers either side of a single aisle, with no more than 6 seats per row. Larger aircraft would have to be longer, higher (i.e. double-deck) or wider in order to accommodate the proposed passenger numbers. Engineers realized that lengthening the fuselage would have resulted in aircraft that would be too long to be handled by airports, while having two decks caused difficulties meeting emergency evacuation regulations which were extremely challenging with the technology available at the time. This left a wider fuselage as the best option: by adding a second aisle, as many as 10 seats across could be accommodated.[1]
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The Airbus A300 introduced in 1974 was the first twin-engined wide body
The first true wide-body airliner was the four-engined Boeing 747; it debuted in 1969 and remains the largest in passenger service (due to lose that title to the Airbus A380 when it enters service on 25th October, 2007), seating over 400 passengers. The main deck of the 747 features twin aisles and seating 10-abreast, while the upper deck "hump" seats 6-abreast along a single aisle. Its fuselage is 256 inches in diameter.

Other wide-bodies soon followed, including the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, with 237 inch diameter fuselage. In 1974, Airbus introduced the Airbus A300, the first twin-engined wide-body. Subsequent commercial wide-bodies include:
Three wide-body designs are in development or testing:
  • Airbus A380 (2007) - the world's largest passenger aircraft
  • Boeing 787 (2008) - first aircraft to utilize monolithic composite fuselage, replacement for the Boeing 767. The outside diameter of its fuselage is 227 inches.
  • Airbus A350 (2012-2013) - replacement for the Airbus A330/A340 line

Design considerations



Enlarge picture
Airbus A300 fuselage cross-section, showing the passenger compartment above and cargo containers below. On display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.


Although a wide-body aircraft has a larger frontal area than a narrow-body of equivalent capacity, and thus greater form drag, it has several advantages:
  • Lower ratio of surface area to volume, and thus (for equal volume) lower frictional drag.
  • Twin aisles accelerate loading and unloading/evacuation relative to a single aisle
  • Wider fuselage reduces the overall length of the aircraft, improving ground maneuverability and reducing the risk of tail strikes.
  • Greater under-floor freight capacity.
  • More structurally efficient than narrow-bodies for large aircraft

Operating considerations

Aircraft are categorised by ICAO according to the amount of wake turbulence they produce. Because wake turbulence is generally related to the weight of an aircraft, these categories are based on weight—aircraft with a maximum certificated take-off weight of 300,000 lb (136,000 kg) or more are classed as Heavy, those between 15,500 lb and 300,000 lb (7,000 kg and 136,000 kg) are classed as Medium, and those below 15,500 lb (7,000 kg) are classed as Light. Due to their weight, all current wide-body aircraft are categorised as Heavy.

The wake turbulence category is used to guide the separation of aircraft—a Heavy category aircraft will require greater separation behind it than a Medium category, which in turn requires more separation than a Light category. In some countries, such as the USA, it is a requirement to suffix the aircraft's call sign with the word "heavy" when communicating with ATC in the Terminal Radar Area. If the aircraft is on an ARTCC (Air Route Traffic Control Center Frequency), they are not required to say "heavy" at the end of the callsign. For example, flight UAL342 operated by United Airlines using a wide bodied aircraft would use the call sign "United 342 Heavy" while in the USA.

References

1. ^ Irving, Clive (1994). Wide Body: The Making of the Boeing 747. Coronet. ISBN 0 340 59983 9. 
airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft with the primary function of transporting paying passengers. Such aircraft are usually operated by an airline which owns or leases the aircraft.
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A passenger is any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination.

Passenger or passengers may also refer to:

In film:
  • Passenger

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Airline seats are chairs on an airliner in which passengers are accommodated for the duration of the journey. Such seats are usually arranged in rows running across the airplane's fuselage. A diagram of such seats in an aircraft is called an airline seat map.
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narrow-body aircraft is an airliner with a fuselage aircraft cabin diameter typically of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft), and airline seat arranged 2 to 6 abreast along a single aisle.
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Seat can refer to:

A place to sit, particularly the area one sits upon (rather than other elements, like armrests), See:
  • Chair
  • Car seat
  • Airline seat
  • Saddle, a type of seat used on the backs of animals, bicycles (see bicycle seat), etc.

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worldwide view.
Freight is a term used to classify the transportation of cargo and is typically a commercial process. Items are usually organised into various shipment categories before they are transported.
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Cargo is a term used to denote goods or produce being transported generally for commercial gain, usually on a ship, plane, train, van or truck. Nowadays containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.

Cargo represents a concern to U.S. national security.
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Airplane Company
Maiden flight December 20, 1957
Introduction October 1958 with Pan American
Produced 1958-1978
Number built 1,010
Developed from Boeing 367-80
Variants
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Douglas Aircraft
McDonnell Douglas
Maiden flight 1958-05-30
Introduced September 1959 with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines
Status Remain in service for cargo and VIP transport
Produced 1958-1972
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The Boeing Company

Public (NYSE:  BA , TYO: 7661 )
Founded Seattle, Washington (1916)
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois

Key people W. James McNerney, Jr.
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Designed by Joe Sutter
Maiden flight 9 February1969[1]
Introduction 1970 with Pan Am and TWA<ref name="milestone" />
Status In development (747-8)
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 27 April 2005
Introduced 25 October 2007
Status Certified 12 December 2006
Primary user Singapore Airlines
Number built 10 as of October 2007[1]

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Type Airliner
Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas
Maiden flight 1970-08-29
Introduction 1971-08-05 with American Airlines
Primary user FedEx
Produced 1968-1988
Number built DC-10: 386
KC-10: 60

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Type Wide-body aircraft
Manufacturer Lockheed-California Co.
Maiden flight 1970-11-16
Introduction 1972-04-26
Primary users Royal Air Force
ATA Airlines
Globe Jet Airlines
Sky Gate International Aviation
Produced
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Airbus, see Bellanca Aircruiser.

Airbus S.A.S.

Subsidiary
Founded 1970 (Airbus Industrie)
2001 (Airbus S.A.S.)
Headquarters Toulouse, France

Key people Thomas Enders, CEO
Hans Peter Ring, CFO
John Leahy, Sales Director
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 28 October 1972
Introduction 30 May 1974 with Air France
Primary users United Parcel Service
FedEx
American Airlines
Japan Airlines
Produced 1974-2007

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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Ilyushin
Maiden flight 22 December 1976
Introduction 1980
Primary user S7 Airlines
Produced 1980-1994
Number built 103

The Ilyushin Il-86
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight April 3 1982
Introduced April 1983
Primary users FedEx
Air India
Pakistan International Airlines
Air Transat
Produced 1983-2007
Number built 255

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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Maiden flight 1981-09-26
Introduction 1982-09-08 with United Airlines
Status Active
Primary users Delta Air Lines
American Airlines
All Nippon Airways
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Type Wide-body aircraft
Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas / Boeing
Maiden flight January 10, 1990
Introduction December 1990 with Finnair
Status Out of production
Primary users FedEx
UPS
Lufthansa Cargo
World Airways
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Type Widebody airliner
Manufacturer Ilyushin
Maiden flight September 28, 1988
Introduced December 29, 1992 with Aeroflot
Primary users Aeroflot
Domodedovo, Cubana, Rossiya
Produced 1993-
Number built 20
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 1992-11-02
Introduced January 1994 with Air Inter
Primary users Northwest Airlines
Emirates
Qatar Airways
Cathay Pacific
Number built 495 (as of October 2007)

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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 25 October 1991
Introduced March 1993
Primary users Lufthansa
Iberia Airlines
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Air France
Number built 347 as of September 2007
Unit cost
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Maiden flight 1994-06-12
Introduction 1995-06-07 with United Airlines
Primary users Singapore Airlines
Air France-KLM
Emirates
United Airlines
Produced
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 27 April 2005
Introduced 25 October 2007
Status Certified 12 December 2006
Primary user Singapore Airlines
Number built 10 as of October 2007[1]

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Type Wide-body jet airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Maiden flight Targeted for Spring 2008
Status Production
Unit cost 787-3: US$146-151.
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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Maiden flight 1981-09-26
Introduction 1982-09-08 with United Airlines
Status Active
Primary users Delta Air Lines
American Airlines
All Nippon Airways
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This article contains information about a scheduled or anticipated .
It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final version of the aircraft.
“A350” redirects here. For the road, see A350 road.

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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 1992-11-02
Introduced January 1994 with Air Inter
Primary users Northwest Airlines
Emirates
Qatar Airways
Cathay Pacific
Number built 495 (as of October 2007)

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Type Airliner
Manufacturer Airbus
Maiden flight 25 October 1991
Introduced March 1993
Primary users Lufthansa
Iberia Airlines
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Air France
Number built 347 as of September 2007
Unit cost
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