The Airbus A340 is a long-range wide-body commercial passenger airplane manufactured
by Airbus.
It is similar in design to its sister, the A330, but uses four engines rather than two.
With a maximum range of 16,670 kilometers (9,000 miles) and a flight duration of up
to 19 hours, the A340-500 is the second-longest wide-body airliner in the world.
Want to know about it?
Well, stay tuned to the video And watch the video till the end.
Hello guys, Welcome to the Aviation Exclusive.
Hit the subscribe button and turn on the notifications to get new updates about Airbus and Boeing
and basically anything around Aviation.
Hit the like button to show your support.
And in today's video, we are going to talk about “The Airbus A340 is a BIG MISTAKE!”
So without any further ado, Let's begin.
It was initially designed as a smaller replacement for early generation Boeing 747's, but the
latest variants now compete with Boeing's 777 series of aircraft on long-haul and ultra-long-haul
routes.
Designed in the 1970s, the Airbus A300 was Airbus’ lead in the airliner manufacturing
industry.
This industry was at that time controlled mainly by American giants Boeing and Douglas.
To break that stranglehold Airbus envisaged a family of airliners that would cover every
sector of the industry, capacity-wise and also route lengthwise.
The market was ready for a replacement for the aging Boeing 707 and Douglas DC8 aircraft.
The A300B9 was developed slowly and was to be a replacement for the Douglas DC10 and
Lockheed L1011 tri-jets.
It was to be a stretch of the A300 and would be more economical than the older jets.
An A300B11 was then added to the plan to go up against the Douglas DC8 and Boeing 707.
The wing featured full-span leading-edge slats and double-slotted Fowler flaps that increased
wing area by 25% when fully extended.
The inboard flaps had a single segment, with the outboard flaps having two segments, being
separated by an inboard all-speed aileron, complementing a low-speed aileron near the
wingtip.
There were five-section spoilers ahead of the outboard flaps, with two-section spoilers
ahead of the inboard flap, these inboard spoilers being used strictly for lift dumping.
The tailplane had elevators but also was all-moving for pitch trimming.
Flight controls were driven by a triple-redundant hydraulic system.
A pop-out ram-air turbine (RAT) could provide hydraulic pressure in an emergency.
The nose gear retracted forward and featured two wheels, while the main gear retracted
inward from the inboard wing towards the fuselage and had four wheels, in a 2x2 arrangement.
There was a bumper under the rear fuselage to protect against tail scrapes.
In addition as the A300B9 & B11 were twin-aisle aircraft, the designation was to be changed
to TA(twin-aisle)9 and TA11.
The designations were later reversed but it made sense that a 4 engine variant carried
a number 4 in its designation, So the Airbus A340 came into existence.
27th January 1986 marked the official change from the re-designation of the TA11 to become
the A340.
Airbus then began to ask airlines for interest in becoming the launch customer.
The First Airbus A340-200 was delivered to Lufthansa on 2nd February 1993 and entered
service on 15th March 1993.
The 228 seaters was named Nürnberg.
The A330 / A340 program was officially launched just prior to the 1987 Paris Airshow by the
end of which they received 89 orders for the A340.
The first flight of the A340 was on 21 October 1991 and was done by the initial variant the
A340 300.
Six aircraft then began a 2,000-hour rigorous test program which culminated in certification
for the type given by the J.A.A.
(Joint Aviation Authority – Europe) on 22 December 1992 and the F.A.A.
(Federal Aviation Authority – U.S.A.) on 27 May 1993.
The A340-500 when it was introduced was the world's longest-range commercial airliner.
The -500 variant beat the Boeing 777-200LR which had a range of 8,555 nautical miles.
The -500 variant is capable of flying from London to Perth non-stop back in 2002 when
the first -500 variant flew this was impressive but now is an everyday flight for flight QF10.
Production of the A340 ended in 2011, but it remains in service with several airlines.
Four variants were developed, and it was designed alongside the twin-engine A330.
This was a smart move by Airbus, lowering costs, and covering the fact that the A340
soon fell out of favor as twins improved.
Airbus made a big bet on the superjumbo A380, which is half again as large as the Boeing
747 and certified to seat up to 853 passengers on two full decks.
When it first entered into service in 2007, it was hailed as an aircraft perfectly designed
for carrying passengers between large, congested hub airports.
Boeing made a different bet, marketing aircraft like the B787 “Dreamliner” that would
enable future travelers to fly direct even on long, “thin” international routes with
relatively few passengers.
In hindsight, that turned out to be the smarter move.
A big question, however, was whether to develop a twin-engine or a four-engine (quad jet)
widebody.
ETOPS ratings have made twin engines much more desirable.
But at the time, there were still severe restrictions on how far twin-engine aircraft could fly
from diversion airports, limiting their use for many airlines.
The solution was to develop two aircraft: a twinjet, and a quad jet.
This would meet the needs of both sets of customers, and there would be savings by developing
both aircraft together.
Airbus' vice president for strategic planning, Adam Brown, explained his views on this (in
reporting by FlightGlobal): "There was much internal debate whether to go with the big
twin or the quad…
North American operators were clearly in favor of a twin, while the Asians wanted a quad.
In Europe, opinion was split between the two…The majority of potential customers were in favor
of a quad despite the fact, in certain conditions, it is more costly to operate than a twin -they
liked that it could be ferried with one engine out, and could 'fly anywhere' – remember
ETOPS hadn't begun then."
On April 30, 2019, Qatar Airways retired its last Airbus A340-600 from service after around
16 years of service.
The last flight was QR835 from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport to Hamad International
Airport.
The fuel consumption of the A340 was its Achilles heel.
The upgrading of ETOPS for 180 minutes meant the A340 was competing against the behemoth
that was the Boeing 777 for market share.
Two engines cost less to run than four, so for many airlines, it was a no-brainer to
switch out the quad jet for a more efficient twin.
ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) were introduced in
the early 1980s, to reflect the increasing safety and performance of twin-engine aircraft
and allow them to fly further from a diversion airport.
The first rating was given, in 1985, to Trans World Airlines flying a 767.
This allowed it to fly 120 minutes from a diversion airport.
Adding to its problems were the dramatically rising fuel costs after the turn of the millennia.
By the time the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2008, fuel costs had ballooned to almost
$4 a gallon, from under $0.5 a gallon 10 years before.
The A340 was no longer cost-effective, and it slowly began to disappear from our skies.
The Airbus A340 includes a critical fly-by-wire flight control system that mediates pilot
commands and controls flight surface actuators.
The focus of the A340-600 was on capacity.
It offers a similar passenger capacity to the Boeing 747 but adds additional cargo space.
Now that we've come to the end of this video, I want to thank you for sticking with me,
and I'd love to know what you think of it.
Just comment down below.
Also, If you like this video, make sure you like it, and stay safe.
Today's video is over, but if you want to see more.
There's one on your screen right now, and there are a few more fun videos coming soon
about everyday Aviation technology.
I'll see you in the next video!