Entry into service of the Airbus A310 with AirFrance. With its 222 inch (5.63 meters) cross-section, this aircraft was a true wide-body in its class. It could seat 190 to 230 passengers depending on cabin layout and a total of 255 A310's built. Powered by CF6-8C2 or PW4000 engines it has a range of up to 5200 nautical miles.
After the introduction of the Airbus A300 the demand was there for a smaller twin jet. On the 7th of July 1978 the A300B10 was launched after orders from Swissair and Lufthansa and was soon rebranded as the A310. The first flight was on the 3rd of April 1982, followed by certification 11 months later. One of its innovative features was the two-crew glass cockpit, where the flight engineers job was taken over by automation, and with that started the end of the flight engineers job in modern aviation.
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