The Airbus A321 airliner is the largest aircraft of the A320 family. It is seven meters longer than the main liner. Designed for use on medium-length lines. The first official flight took place on March 11, 1993.
The A321 installed more powerful engines, strengthened the chassis, slightly changed the wing design. In the usual layout, the aircraft is designed to carry 170 passengers. In the standard scheme, the salon is divided into two classes. For budget and charter flights, a more capacious version is issued - A321 (scheme without dividing the passenger compartment into classes), which can carry 220 passengers per flight, while the flight range reaches 5600 km.
The development of the A320, the modification of which is the A321 Airbus, began after the success of the A300. The concern intended to create a new aircraft that would be able to compete with the Boeing 727 , the most popular in the class at that time . It was planned that it would be the same size airliner with several options for passenger capacity.
The A320 was supposed to surpass its counterparts - Boeing 727, 737. The stake was placed on the widespread introduction of digital technology in aircraft control and protection systems.
Compared to Boeings, the A321 airbus has a more spacious cabin with roomy shelves for hand luggage of passengers. The lower cargo deck is more voluminous and has wide cargo hatches.
Since 2000, the A321 and other representatives of this family have been introducing innovations that were first used in the production of the A318 (a shortened version of the aircraft) into the A321 airbus. Replaced the cladding panels, further increasing the shelves for hand luggage. Each passenger has a new FAP-panel with a touch screen, individual LED lighting. The brightness of the interior light is adjustable.
The cockpit has been updated. Instead of monitors on cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal displays (LCD) are installed. Computer stuffing has changed. Modernization has affected some mechanisms. All this, combined with relatively low maintenance costs, has provided these aircraft with great popularity in the world. The A320 family is now helping Airbus cope with problems that have arisen due to losses in the production of the A380 giant aircraft.
Work on improving the family does not stop, despite the fact that the first A320 took to the air more than a quarter century ago. Today it is one of the most popular aircraft in its class in the world with excellent flight and operational characteristics.
Lightweight composite materials are widely used in the construction, the share of which is approximately 20%. Cellular fillers, reinforced plastic are used. Mechanization of the wing of the machine is almost completely made of composite materials. The vertical plumage is 100% composed of them.
Airbus A321 has the following technical characteristics: with a length of 44.51 m and a fuselage diameter of 3.7 m, it has a wingspan of 34.1 meters. Height - 11.76 m. It can lift into the air up to 89,000 kg. At full load, the length of the runway should be at least 2.180 m. The cabin accommodates from 170 to 220 passengers, depending on the layout. The flight range can reach 5.950 km with a cruising speed of 840 km / h and a ceiling of 11800 m. The aircraft has 6 doors for passengers, 8 emergency exits.
Well, in this photo you can see the inside of the A321 Airbus itself. The layout of his cabin is as follows:
- Business class: from 1 to 7 row.
- Economy class: from 8 to 31 row.