Wide-body aircraft

A wide-body aircraft is a large airliner with a fuselage diameter of about 5 to 6 metres and twin aisles. Passengers are usually seated 7 to 10 abreast. For comparison, a traditional narrow-body airliner has a diameter of 3 to 4 metres, a single aisle, and seats arranged 4 to 6 abreast. Typical wide-body aircraft can accommodate between 200 and 600 passengers, where the largest narrow-bodies carry about 280. Freight-only versions exist as well, which are similar bar the cargo-loading arrangements.

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The first wide-body aircraft was the four-engined Boeing 747 which debuted in 1969 and currently the largest in passenger service, however the Airbus A380 will be larger, when it enters service in 2006. Slightly smaller and shorter ranged three-engined wide-bodies followed in the early 1970s—the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar—then the twin-engined Airbus A300 in 1974. Subsequent commercial wide-bodies include the Ilyushin Il-86 (1980), the Airbus A310 (a shortened A300) and Boeing 767 (1982), the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (1986), the Ilyushin Il-96 (1992), the Airbus A330/A340 family (1993), the Boeing 777 (1995), and the upcoming 787 {2008). The United States and the Soviet Union both produced dedicated military wide-body transports: the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and C-141 Starlifter, the Ilyushin Il-76 "Candid", the Antonov An-124/An-225, and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.

Related Topics:
Boeing - 747 - 1969 - Airbus - A380 - 2006 - 1970s - McDonnell Douglas - DC-10 - Lockheed - L-1011 Tristar - A300 - 1974 - Ilyushin - Il-86 - 1980 - A310 - 767 - 1982 - MD-11 - 1986 - Il-96 - 1992 - A330 - A340 - 1993 - 777 - 1995 - 787 - 2008 - C-5 Galaxy - C-141 Starlifter - Il-76 "Candid" - Antonov - An-124 - An-225 - C-17 Globemaster III

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