The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 53decision to proceed alone. They were
undeterred by the British withdrawal and
indicated that they would proceed in
partnership with the development.
From partner to
sub-contractor
In June 1969, the Hawker Siddeley Board
bravely expressed their firm desire to
remain in the European Airbus
programme and invest in it privately.
France and Germany acknowledged they
needed HSA too. Manufacturing the
largest wing ever fabricated in quantity in
Britain required huge investment and
understandably HSA was reluctant to
hand over their well-designed Airbus
wing to a foreign rival. This left HSA
struggling to find a way to recoup the
benefits of their extensive contribution of
both technical and commercial
knowledge in the project and the need
for a huge investment in plant and
machine tools.
The ramifications of Britain’s
withdrawal were far-reaching. HSA had
previously been contracted to
manufacture the whole wing, now
production of all the moving parts of the
wing, such as the slats, flaps, lift dumpers,
etc. was moved to other manufacturers
outside the UK. Though HSA was still
heavily involved in the project, British
withdrawal from the programme was to
have long-lasting effects on the British
aviation’s ancillary industries, since
equipment decisions were now made by
the French and German partners and the
British contribution was much reduced.
Hawker Siddeley became responsible
for the largest wings ever then put into
production in Europe. Overall control of
all wing design and detailing lay with
Hatfield, but Broughton manufactured
the major part of it.
Into the air
The first prototype flew from Toulouse on
28 October 1972 and the second in
February the following year. The B1
prototypes were succeeded in the air by
two extended fuselage B2s, which were the
first production aircraft. Certification
followed in March 1974 and scheduled
services were started by Air France on the
London-Paris route in May providing an
exceptionally high degree of reliability and
economy. Though FAA certification
followed at the end of the month it seemed
of little import as there was then no
American interest in the aircraft.
The Airbus A300 gradually received
orders and though there were noBritish AerospAce And AirBus
An Airbus montage of the A320 family of airliners. The A321
has the largest capacity and can take up to 230 passengers, the
A320’s maximum is 195, while the A319 can carry 160. The
smallest of the four airliners, the A318, is now out of
production. The neo (new engine option) versions of the A320
family are now entering service. (Airbus) An A330 of Virgin
Australia, VH-XFC,
flying like all other
Airbuses on British
designed and
manufactured
wings. The
revamped A330neo
(new engine option)
is due to fly in late- The
four-engined
version of the A330,
the A340 is now out
of production.
(Airbus)
competitors to the Airbus at that time,
airlines appeared reluctant to buy an aircraft
constructed by a consortium and whether
two engines were sufficiently reliable for
the carriage of up to 300 passengers.
Production continued at a very slow rate
and unsold aircraft were parked at Toulouse.
To make the aircraft more attractive to
potential customers, Airbus developed the
A300B4 offering greater range and which
was to sell in greater numbers than the B2.
By mid-1976 Hawker Siddeley had
orders for 100 wing sets and authorisation
to purchase long-lead items for another 32.
It had been well worth the risk, as HSA had
recouped its investment on delivery of the
25th set of wings.