A part of the 7000 Aerospatiale’s employees poses here Feb.24 surrounding the new medium-haul jetliner Airbus A320 which flew for the first test last Sunday Feb.22First A320 is built. July 1986. Final assembly of the first A320 is virtually complete, and the aircraft will soon begin ground-based trials. First flight is planned for March 1987 and certification and entry into airline service will follow in spring 1988. The A320 is the only all-new 150-seater committed to production and will be the first airliner with computer-drive fly-by-wire (FBW) controls. In the cockpit of the Airbus A320, all information necessary for operating the aircraft is displayed on six colour monitors. The aircraft is controlled by electrical signals, and the conventional control columns have been replaced by sidestick controllers. There are installed to the left and right of the pilots in side consoles. The Airbus A320, which Lufthansa is operating on short and medium-range routes, is the first airliner in which “fly-by-wire” technology is being used.
Soarbywire 