Airbus A310 (Airbus)
Airbus A310 Lufthansa old livery
Facts: Announced in 1978, the A310 was first flown on April 3, 1982, when 181 had already been ordered by airlines.
First deliveries were made to Swissair and Lufthansa on March 29, 1983.
Lufthansa introduced the aircraft on April 21, 1983, nine days after Swissair.
Figures: The A310 is manufactured in France, Germany, Spain and the U.K.;final assembly is by Aerospatiale at Toulouse.
Three versions of the A310 were planned but only the -200 and -300 have sold.
By the end of 1996, 252 A310s had been delivered from total orders for 271.
Airbus A320 (Airbus)
Airbus A320 House Color
Facts: Airbus Industrie is a true international partnership, bringing together France, Germany, Spain and Great Britain.
The a320 was the first civil aircraft to fly with fully electronic controls.
Since 1972, Airbus has sold 1,750 airliners to 103 airlines around the world.
Figures: The stretched A321 is built in Hamburg, the first Airbus built outside France.
The A320 introduced the new European multinational V2500 turbofan.
Boeing tried to acquire an A320 so they could park it on their 737 assembly line to serve as a motivation for its workers.
Boeing 707 (Boeing)
Boeing 707 El Al
Facts: The first Boeing 707 was actually rolled upside down on one test flight.
The same prototype flew nonstop from Seattle to Baltimore on March 11, 1957, at an average speed of 611 m.p.h.
The USAF purchase of 820 KC-135/Model 717 tankers helped cut the cost of the 707 to the world's airlines.
Figures: Boeing engineers calculated that one 707 used 1,060 miles of electrical wiring.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first President to have a jet aircraft, a C-137A (Boeing 707-320B).
Pan American's 707-120 first flew on December 20, 1957, and entered service 10 months later.
Boeing 727 (Boeing)
Boeing 727-200 Alaska Airlines
Facts: The Boeing 727 first flew at Renton Field near Seattle on February 9, 1963.
In November 1963, a 727 completed a 75,000-mile world tour.
Federal Express received the final build Boeing 727 (a 727-200F freighter) on September 3, 1984.
Figures: The first 727 used by United Air Lines was donated in 1991 to the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
The 727 was the first jetliner with built-in airstairs and single-point refueling.
The 727 was the first jetliner to operate at the airport in La Paz, Bolivia.
Boeing 737 (Boeing)
Boeing 737-200 Lufthansa old livery
Facts: The 737 has passed Boeing's 727 and the competing DC-9/MD-80 to become the worl's best-selling airliner.
2,675 Boeing 737's have been delivered; 700 are in the air at all times.
In 55 million flights, the 737 fleet has carried 4.24 billion passengers, equal to more than half the world's population.
Figures: The Boeing 737-300, -400, and -500, which are now in production, are powered by 19,960-lb.-thrust CFM56-3 engines.
19 Boeing 737's called CT-43s, are used byt he U.S. Air Force for navigator training.
Indonesia employs the 737 Surveiller for maritime patrol. It is equipped with a Motorola side-looking radar.
Boeing 747 (Boeing)
Boeing 747-200 Transport
Facts: With the 747-100's fuel capacity of 47,200 gallons, a Cessna 150 lightplane can fly 1.1 million miles.
The 747 was chosen for the earthly job transporting the space shuttle orbiter.
747's carry more passengers each year than the population of Germany.
Figures: The interior of a Boeing 747 contains 3,100 miles of electrical wiring.
The main undercarriage on the 747 has four legs and 16 wheels with disc brakes and individual antiskid locks.
Special high-density versions of the 747 flying in Japan can carry 566 passengers.
Boeing 757 (Boeing)
Boeing 757-200
Facts: Boeing claims that the 757 freighter can hold six million golf balls.
Mexico's Fuerza Aerea Mexicana operates a 757-225 as a VIP presidential aircraft.
The first aircraft, a Boeing 757-200, flew on february 18, 1982.
Figures: The 757 fleet has flown almost the equivalent of 5,000 round trips between earth an the Moon.
Boeing almost built a re-engine and re-designed 727 instead of the 757.
By October 1994, 46 airlines in 20 countries had ordered 833 Boeing 757s.
Comet (de Havilland)
Comet House Color
Facts: The first production Comet made its maiden flight on January 9, 1951.
The first commercial flights byt he Comet were freight-only trips between Britain and South Africa.
Britain and Canada were the only users of military transport Comets.
Figures: The Comet 2 used Rolls-Royce Avon engines, same as the Lightning fighter.
Two Comet 4C airframes were converted as prototypes for the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft.
The sole Comet 3 introduced the long fuselage used on production Comet 4s.
Concorde (Aerospatiale/BAC)
British Airways Concorde old Livery
Facts: Since Concorde entered scheduled service in 1976, British and fench aircraft have carried 3,000,000 supersonic passengers.
Concorde's only rival, the Soviet Tu-144, is no longer in service.
During supersonic flight, Concorde's skin heats to 260d degree Fahrenheit at the nose.
Figures: As fuel is burned off during a flight, Concorde rises an additional 9, 850 feet.
Concorde flies 10 miles in the time it takes to fills a passenger's champagne glass.
The 14 Concordes have clocked more supersonic hours than all the fighters used by the world's air forces.
Constellation (LockHeed)
Constellation Trans World Airlines old livery
Facts: Eastern Air Lines Super Constellation services began in December 1951.
Military Super "Connies" served as crago and VIP transports, airborne radar stations and reconnaissance craft.
The L-1049D was a crago version with two large loading doors.
Figures: Only 43 of the "ultimate" L-1649A Starliners, which were late competing with the Douglas DC-7C, went into service.
TWA's 1957 5,500-mile nonstop Starliners polar service to London from san Francisco required 18 hours 32 minutes.
DC-10 (McDonnell Douglas)
DC-10 British Caledonian
Facts: The DC-10 was originally designed to enter a U.S. Air Force competition for a military heavy-lifter, eventually losing out to the massive Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.
The third engine mounted in the tail is supported by just four forgings, which are know as "banjo rings." Each rings weighs only 450 pounds.
Figures: DC-10 customers could choose between the GE CF6 enging or the PW JT9D.
The series 15 had more powerful engines for takeoff at "hot-and-high" airports.
Because of some well publicized crashes, early DC-10s mistakenly acquired a reputation for unreliability.
EMB-110 Bandeirante (Embraer)
EMB-110 SkyPower Express Airways
Facts: Between August 1969 and September 1990, 490 Bandeirantes were built by EMBRAER.
Currently being replaced by newer craft, EMB-110s still serve in several nations.
The military prototype for this series of aircraft first flew on October 26, 1968.
Figures: The first flight of a production EMB-110 Bandeirante was made succesfully on August 9, 1972.
Design of the Bandeirante was largely handled by French engineer Max Holste.
The EMB-110 was the basis for the short fuselage EMB-121 Xingu business twin.
Tu-154 "Careless" (Tupolev)
Facts: A trip to Prague on August 1, 1972 was the Tu-154's first scheduled international flight by Aeroflot.
The Tu-142 prototype was first flown by test pilot Yu V Sukhanov on October 3, 1968.
Scheduled passenger services began to Mineralnye Vody on February , 1972.
Figures: A Tupolev trademark is the wing trailing-edge pod for the retracted, triple-bogie main landing wheel.
The upgraded Tu-154M has more efficient Soloviev D-30KU turbofans.
About 1,015 Tu-154 airliners have been used by some 30 airlines in 17 countries.
377 Stratocruiser (Boeing)
377 StratoCruiser
Facts: When Pan American paid $24.5 million for 20 Stratocruiser, it was the biggest purchase of civil airliners up to that time.
the first aircraft in the series was a military XC-97, which first flew in 1944.
The KC-97 tanker version saw active service with Isreal in the 1967 war.
Figures: Boeing president Bill Allen decided to build 50 aircraft at the company's risk before airlines invested in the Model 377.
The first flight was from Seattle, Washington, to Washington, D.C., in six hours four minutes.
About 15 Stratocruiser were operated by Israel as military freighter.
VC.10 (Vickers)
Vickers VC.10 House Color
Facts: The Super VC.10 (Type 1151) was able to carry 163 to 180 economy-class passengers.
The first flight of the VC.10 prototype was made on June 29, 1962.
The lengthened Vickers VC.10 flew for the first time on May 7, 1964.
Figures: When British Airways ended scheduled service in March 1981, VC.10s had carried more than a million passengers.
BOAC introduced the first VC.10s on the London-Lagos route on April 29, 1964.
The RAF ordered 14 Vickers VC.10 C1 transports for general support.
F27 Friendship (Fokker)
Fokker F27 City Hopper
Facts: The Friendship was first conceived as a possible replacement for the venerable Douglas DC-3.
F27 airliners were purchased by 168 customers in 63 countries.
the first of two F27 prototypes made its initial flight on November 24, 1955.
Figures: During the Friendship era, more F27s were manufactured than any other European airliner.
The prototype for the enlarged Fairchild version took to the air in January 1966.
Production of the F27 ended in favor of the Fokker 50 in June 1986.
18 Lodestar (LockHeed)
18 Lodestar Alaska Star Airlines
Facts: During World War II, the British Overseas Airways Corporation operated 38 Lodestar on paramilitary duties.
The first Lodestar was an ex-Northwest Airlines Model 14 rebuilt by LockHeed.
The LockHeed ventura wartime bomber was derived from the Lodestar.
Figures: Kawasaki built 121 Ki-56s derived from a stretched version of the Model 14 and very similar to the Lodestar.
In New Zealand, Lodestar airliners were converted as crop dusters.
Air forces operators of the Model 18 included the RCAF, RAF, and RAAF.
L-1011 TriStar (LockHeed)
LockHeed L-1011 TriStar Tanker
Facts: Tristars were originally priced at $14.3 million in the early 1970's which is about the same price as an F-16 today.
TriStars are also operated by Saudia, Royal Jordanian and Cathay Pacific.
The last TriStar was rolled out of LockHeed's Palmdale plant in 1983.
Figures: The L-1011-500 has a maximum take-off weight of 502, 953 pounds and a range of 6,012 miles.
The RAF bought six TriStars from British Airways for about $96 million in 1983.
LockHeed built 250 TriStars; the first was rolled out in November 1970.
MD-80 (McDonnell Douglas)
MD-80 House Color
Facts: In April 1985, McDonnellDouglas signed an agreement with China to have MD-82s assembled in Shanghai.
The larger MD-80 series can carry 5,780 gallons of fuel.
The MD series has sold particularly well for domestic flights in the U.S.
Figures: In 1989, the company tested an MD-80 with ultra-high-bypass (UHB) engines.
When it entered service, the MD-83 was the most fuel-efficient airliner in it class.
The MD-90 Trunkliner is license-built in China with specially midofied landing gear for better rough-filed performance.
out in November 1970.Tu-114 "Cleat" (Tupolev)
Tu-114
Facts: Cabin volume of the Tu-114 was 11,724 cubic feet, making it by far the largest airliner of its era.
The Tu-114 was also the world's fastest propeller-driven aircraft in 1960.
the first of 31 Tu-114s, "Rossiya," made its maiden flight on November 15 1957.
Figures: With an area of 698 square feet, the horizontal tail of the Tu-114 was larger than the wing of many aircraft.
With spare crews, Tu-114Ds flew the 6,758-mile route from Moscow to Havana.
The Tu-114 won the Grand Prix at the Brussels World Fair in 1958.
