Airbus A300: The European Jet That Challenged Boeing's Air Supremacy

[@Ensign_Redshirt]

Frank Borman of Eastern Airlines... Frank Borman Aviator and test pilot... The Frank Borman who spent Christmas 1968 orbiting the moon, he knew about flying machines 😁

[@bigbaddms]

I know, it was a bit disappointing he didn't mention that. Almost makes me think he didn't know Borman was an Apollo astronaut. It's kinda a big deal.

[@flotfyr14]

In my mind Borman was the most badass of all the Apollo astronauts!

[@Thisandthat8908]

@@flotfyr14 he certainly groomed that tough guy image. I don't think a more easy going chatty astronaut like Pete Conrad was any less competent.

[@The1trueJester]

I appreciate the Business Blaze plug. It's nice to know Simon's other personalities know about one another

[@itarry4]

While they know about each other this Megaprojects and "sensible" channel Simon keeps the fact BB Simon has got Danny and Sam in his Prince of Persia basement from himself as "sensible" Simon would report BB Simon for unsafe practices.. 🤔

[@The1trueJester]

@@itarry4 Sensible Simon allegedly doesnt know about the down stairs "tenants"

[@cleverusername9369]

@@itarry4 ALLEGEDLY

[@kylarstern7627]

Know about one another? They are starting to bleed together

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

The Blaze is bleeding into the other channels, I believe this is the true or 'alpha' personality. Soon it will consume its siblings in order to feed its exponential growth.

[@tobyshaw4443]

I need to see a Megaprojects video on the Airbus Beluga now :)

[@moritzk3004]

Beluga XL maybe? :)

[@MrCodwaw101]

@@moritzk3004 how about both!!!!

[@mattprior219]

A-10 Warthog would be amazing, so many interesting facts about that self propelled canon of the sky

[@Kadeo-ms6qw]

I’ve been asking for months, I feel like Simon is purposefully ignoring it lol

[@francisschweitzer8431]

Well I can give a lead in. The Gau 8 Avenger was first started as a Mobile Mounted Anti Aircraft weapon for the US Army but it kind of turned over the truck it was mounted on. And so General Electric had this wicked gun and no place for it to go. Fact : loading Depleted Uranium onto the aircraft results in a Sub One Thousand Round load due to the weight of the round. I typically saw 950 counts and we had to remove bolt on weights from inside the nose landing gear compartment ( sometimes )

[@angrypenguin2039]

Simon- “we keep our promises” Also Simon- “I’ll probably forget to leave the link down below so just search it”

[@JackieWelles]

Well when you have bazillion KZbin Channels its no wonder :D

[@megaprojects9649]

facts

[@patrickjordan2233]

@@JackieWelles so many channels, that Simon loses track? " What do you mean I'm in the middle of making video #5 for a competitors channel?!?!" "All channels are Mine!!!" Sniff... Allegedly

[@Syyntax861]

not those promises, he meant other ones 🤣

[@decus9544]

Fish Psychiatrist: It's okay fish, flying whales aren't real, they can't hurt you. Airbus Beluga: 17:35

[@mocat1]

Airbus beluga? I’ve just reached the super guppy and can not stop giggling over how idiotic it looks. (How did it get off the ground?

[@js00065]

Flying-fish psychiatrist, surely?

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Look at it smile

[@1992AC]

That is the Airbus Beluga XL. Get it right.

[@js00065]

@@1992AC this is the beluga, no one cares about the accuracy of the name, get friends

[@SuperSteeda]

I would love to see you cover the A-10 Warthog. A cannon too big to fly, with enough recoil to stall the aircraft, and still one of the toughest airplanes ever produced.

[@RevCode]

@keith moore But doesn't that mean that you could stall yourself with it? I mean if you were flying close to minimum speed or something and decided to let it rip?

[@benpurcell4935]

@@RevCode yes yes it does.

[@keithjackson4985]

Well done. Very interesting story. No question, I enjoy this more than TV.

[@taterater1052]

Me too man, very good to get your feet in the water

[@derriegel5705]

To your credit: For a native english speaker you did remarkably well pronouncing Arbeitsgemeinschaft ;)

[@keithjackson4985]

Lol 😆 lol 😆 hilarious.

[@himmelblau2126]

Our naming sense is the worst... Flugzeug = fly thing = plane....seeing him struggle sometimes with German wording and names is kinda funny.

[@aliabdallah102]

@@himmelblau2126 Nonsense! I admire a people who don't bullshit around the naming schemes of anything.

[@bimblinghill]

@@himmelblau2126 As a Brit currently learning German, I'm very much enjoying the language's hilariously direct way of naming things. Not such a fan of the grammar though...

[@indahooddererste]

@@bimblinghill me neither and im german. german grammatic states a rule and at the same time there are so many exceptions that it makes a rule obsolete.

[@alexrossouw7702]

"Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim" haha

[@anydaynow01]

Yep this was one of those priceless inside joke acronyms!

[@jamesmcpherson1590]

I'd love to see a Megaprojects episode on the Airbus A-380. There are other programs on that plane but I really like how your team strikes a balance with run time, pacing and wit to make episodes long enough to be informative while keeping them short enough to remain entertaining.

[@777jones]

Airbus is great, as is Bombardier, creator of the excellent A220. Respect from the US

[@raitchison]

A220 is great, it joins the A400M in the exclusive club of "good looking Airbus"

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

A220 is kawaii

[@guillaumeromain6694]

@@raitchison A340 certainly looks stunning. So does the A350, so does A330...

[@jsleeio]

​@@guillaumeromain6694 agreed! I preferred the a330 over its Boeing competitors too, found it quieter (yes I have NC headphones... less noise still helps though) and more comfortable for the long haul. Used to fly between Sydney/Kuala Lumpur 3-4 times every month and always tried to book A330 flights

[@guillaumeromain6694]

@@jsleeio Definitely! I love the A330 as the workhorse of the industry it truly is. Much prefer it over 767 even 777... Unsung hero the A330! would go out of my way to ensure I end up on one over the competition

[@helgabluestone2407]

Thank you for covering this.

[@aaron5222]

Having built airbus carbon parts on American soil and ironically under the same roof as Boeing. Both companies are top notch neat part of my life building 53 foot carbon parts that will be around for years and years. Eventually machines replaced hand lay up of the big parts

[@drewintampa]

I flew as a flight attendant for PAN AM and American. We used the new (at the time) A300-B4. This aircraft actually had a flight engineer. I believe the A310 did away with a 3 man cockpit crew. This was a great video. I LOVED the A300. Super comfortable and easy to do service on.

[@bradhobbs6196]

Well, Airbus did last longer than Eastern Airlines, so there is that. Plus, Airbus has never tried to fly to the ISS. . .and missed.

[@curium9622]

airbus was part of thr ETV tho and it went to the ISS multiple times

[@uzogsi]

that jab, well done

[@Musikur]

Thanks for the video. Nice to have the reason Britain dropped out so clearly told, the reasons I had heard never really answered the question adequately.

[@StuartButterworth]

Just one slight clarification - Airbus bought 2 Super Guppy's from Aero-Space Lines, as well as a license to build 2 more, for which they acquired 2 (or possibly 3, sources vary!) StratoLiners as donor fuselages - these were built in Toulouse, and flew with Airbus until they were replaced by the A300B-608SAT (later known as Beluga). Of these 4 machines, one is flying for NASA, 2 are on display at Toulouse and Hamburg, and one was on display at Bruntingthorpe in the UK, but was moved to be scrapped in November 2020.

[@dannyb7371]

Wouldn't mind seeing an episode on the Fusion Tokamak being built in France.

[@Austin500MD]

Use to work on A300’s. Thanks for doing a video on it! Good times!

[@DPImageCapturing]

Excellent Simon! I worked on a lot of A300’s! Also I worked on the A310, A319, A320, A321’s. Cheers!

[@thomasmooreCQ]

The a300 is one my favorite planes. Always enjoyed flying it when AA had them

[@Elkarlo77]

One thing about the Engine Development helps the A300 Family still today: It got a better Ground clearance and could better reengined with more efficient Engines, unlike their main Competitors.

[@WilliRacing]

Another nice Megaproject: The Ford Model T and how Henry Ford revolutionised the asembly line. And a Biographics episode about Jean-Joseph Etinne Lenoir would be great. An unkown man that invented su many things we still use today

[@big62]

Fabulous video. Full of interesting facts and the occasional well placed humour. Looking forward to your next video.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:50 - Chapter 1 - A vested interest 4:15 - Chapter 2 - Specification & development 9:05 - Chapter 3 - Putting the damn thing together 11:30 - Chapter 4 - A rocky start 13:20 - Chapter 5 - Etops 15:30 - Chapter 6 - Success

[@chrisslky7018]

Always love the pictures and videos from Maho beach. Cheers!

[@jungbolosse3034]

Think it's Phuket In Thailand.

[@SagapoForever]

The A-10! it's a Megaproject to all the lives it saved

[@chris.becker]

Holy crap, the writing in this video. Amazing.

[@looony]

Arbeitsgemeinschaft was spot on! Good Job

[@Jerryman1980]

As an aircraft mechanic for a major us airline, I much prefer working on the Airbus to Boeing. Nice video by the way!

[@wgreenjr81]

suggestion for your Biographics channel, Frank Borman, Test Pilot to NASA Astronaut to Airline Exec.... an incredible life lived

[@nakeyboy]

Random Super guppy fact: Airbus initially bought 2 and then realised it needed more. The company that took Boeing 377s and made them into the SGs was long out of business. Airbus bought the rights to manufacture the SGs and made 2 more in the '80s. Of these 2 new SGs, one is now a Static display at Airbus Hamburg; and the other was sold back to NASA in a deal to allow ESA (and by extenstion, Airbus Space) to do more on the ISS. The one with NASA (N941NA) is still in active use with it's most recent flight (as of this comment) being from Palmdale CA to El Paso TX on September 8 2021

[@chriscushing1275]

There was another early French-British collaboration in Jet airliners- the Sud Caravelle. The Caravelle was mostly French, but the cockpit section was borrowed wholesale from the DeHavilland Comet through a licensing agreement. Pretty neat little plane and from a design and role standpoint was the precursor to things like the DC-9.

[@guillaumeromain6694]

Absolutely correct. Shame the great Caravelle wasn't talked about.

[@JoeHusosky]

My dad worked for Eastern airlines in Miami and we flew in those first a300s and they were so far superior comfort to the current fleet that we had as a passenger

[@Azwarrior94]

Perfect idea for a video. The Orient Express, the Simplon Orient Express, Arlberg Orient Express, the Vince-Simplon Orient Express and their more modern counterpart.

[@duncanb79]

One has been done for The Orient Express on his Geographic site: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKWrfaqgpJl2aas.

[@iLoveBoysandBerries]

The A300 set the standard and model airframe for the future. Every current wide body jet today stems from the a300 design

[@RichardMigneron]

Bit of a shortcut in talking about the Beluga program. The Beluga ST was built on the A300-600R platform, that was right. But the Beluga XL, the next generation of Belugas with the smiling beluga face, is being built on the A330-200F platform (3 out of 6 are operational). Where the XT can only carry 1 wing of an A350, the XL can carry 2.

[@drkstd1]

Nice Video i just found 2 little mistakes in it. First the A300B still had a 3 Crew Flightdeck. The 2 Crew Cockpit came with the A310 and A300-600. Second the Engines. The A300B was only available with GE engines. The PW4000 came also with the A310 and A300-600.

[@pooryorick831]

In the 1950s and sixties, Lockheed also manufactured airliners. And they brought the L10-11 to market as a wide body alternative to the DC-10. But of course the L10-11 was really Lickheeds swan song in the airliner market. But at the time when Airbus was ramping up there were still a lot of Lockheed propliners in service. The Super Constellation and the Elecktra are the two best examples.

[@kennztube]

I like that quote at the end, “all you can do is take lessons from the past into the future.”

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

Back not longer after the A300 was introduced I traveled on one between Joburgh and Cape Town. This was the third leg of a journey from Scotland the earlier legs had been on a Trident and a 747 and the fourth leg would be on an S-61. Travelling on the A300 it struck me how much of step forward it was. Tridents I loved, bit the 747 didn't impress me (I had been hoping for flight in a VC10) bit the A300 was fantastic step into the future.

[@faustin289]

I enjoyed this episode probably more than I should. I can now see the origin of the "free trial" marketing technique.

[@PulsingKrugotvoid]

Idk if megaprojects have to be completed projects, but I think starship definitely deserves a video. Or spacex in general. The things they do are mind blowing

[@TigerXGame]

Moooooooooooooom! Business Blaze is leaking into other channels again!

[@marzolian]

Nicely done.

[@Threshershark420]

"all you can do is take lessons from the past and take them into the future" -Simon Whistler This should be your constant tag line. This is why I watch.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@AadityaKaza]

Hell must not be a nice place former FAA head J Lynn Helms at the moment considering the dominance of twin jets over the likes of the 747 and A380 (quads), a by-gone technology. Twins today fly long haul across continents and over water routes including over the Pacific and Indian oceans. This has been possible thanks to plane design and engine efficiency but also the relaxing of the ETOPS rules. Currently the maximum ETOPS certification of 370mins applies to the A350.

[@peternicolaides6256]

I was a F/A with Eastern from 1976 to 1989. Col.Frank Borman pinned my wings on graduation day. Got to fly on the airbus many times, however the L-1011 a/c was my favorite a/c to work on.

[@tylerchambliss8379]

I've been waiting for you guys to do this one for a while.

[@andrewmalik3737]

The original engine option for the american A300 was the General Electric CF6-50.

[@mho...]

"sorry if you found that video interesting" 18:53 🤣 wait what?!

[@circuit10]

According the the auto subtitles it’s “so I really hope” said quickly

[@RichardMigneron]

at 15:00 "It's a fairly clear message there !" Mega-LOL

[@robertmcghintheorca49]

Ironically, with its high density cabin seating configuration, the A300 can carry 375 passengers.

[@Drehzahlorgel]

The german in me laughed quite hard at "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Airbus" ... @Megaprojects Simon, can you also say: "Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft" ? Yes, it is one single german word. No, we dont hate the world. :D

[@jerry2357]

The European Union didn’t come into existence until 1993 (with the implementation of the Maastricht treaty), long after the Airbus consortium was established.

[@TigruArdavi]

what was established in 1957 was indeed the European Economic Community (Treaty of Rome), though that was the direct predecessor of the EU. So while technically named incorrectly in the video, the key point remains, that the beginnings of Airbus fell within the time of a new European customs union and close collaboration

[@jerry2357]

@@TigruArdavi But when the Airbus consortium was founded, Britain wasn’t a member of the EEC (it joined in 1973, and the A300 first flew in 1972).

[@mustafaemad3614]

I have been campaigning for a long time for the Bar Lev Line with no success. But instead of giving up, I will be campaigning for Benban Solar Park, Aswan High Dam and of course Bar Lev Line.

[@robg5958]

I worked on many A330s at ASL Lemwerder, formerly MBB, in Germany. The aircraft was very well designed for easy maintenance and repair. As an Airframe Fitter, I found it much easier and less time consuming to work on than Boeing airframes. The Boeing way of assembling airframes in the 70s and 80s, had not changed much since WW2, so it was not surprising that when Airbus eventually got going, they began to mop up the sales. Sadly, the repair and overhaul base at Lemwerder was closed in 2010 with the loss of hundreds of skilled jobs. This was due to deregulation and outsourcing of maintenance by airlines. Perhaps you could make a video about the decline in European aircraft repair and overhaul companies.

[@glorious_help]

AIRBUS ORGANISATION IS IMPRESSIVE..... SO GLAD WE COULD DO SUCH THINGS IN EUROPE

[@pooryorick831]

The Super Guppy was an amazing aircraft. I used to see them all the time at Lindbergh Field in San Diego when I was a kid. They came to get parts for NASA from General Dynamics, who made parts of the Apollo spacecraft. You never thought the thing would get off the ground. But it does. I did not know that they were based on the Boeing 377 Metrliner. So there. I learned something today. And I haven't even had breakfast yet. Hurrah. 😐👍🏻🙂✌🏻

[@josecastro4143]

Hi Simon! Great video! Could you guys consider doing one about the James Webb Telescope which is due for lunch later this year?

[@tip00former1]

*launch

[@josecastro4143]

@@tip00former1 ha! I blame autocorrect. :D

[@sirflaps7619]

@@tip00former1 I like lunch better

[@thefrecklepuny]

In addition to the Comet and Concorde, notable mentions should also include the British Trident and VC10 and the French Caravelle.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

French had Dassault Mercure twin.

[@StuartButterworth]

Hardly a mega project - only 11 were built, and they all flew with one airline in France until they were retired in favour of the A320... The Brits, however, had the BAC 1-11.

[@hooks4638]

This is truly one of your best. Great topic and even better laughs. You should look into doing a megaprojects, or side projects, on Shannon Airport in Ireland. First duty free store, which gave China the idea for their special economic zones, at the time the first new town/city in Ireland in god knows how long.

[@justplanenuts5541]

I had an idea for two video's consisting of the Airbus A380 and the Panavia Tornado, as you have done one on TSR2 a lot of the tech found in that aircraft found it's way into the Tornado.

[@m8rshall]

As someone who manufactures parts for Airbus - a approve this video :D

[@LegendNinja41]

Really interesting video. Airbus is a great reliable company.

[@5alm0n]

I did love ‘Engines Turn Or Passages Swim’ !!

[@miguelmonteiro7942]

Thanks for the video.

[@FATMAN828456]

I'd love to see a video on the Douglas C-47, over 10000 made and a workhorse for paratroopers in WW2

[@flybyairplane3528]

FATMAN 82456, THERE ARE several movies on the C47, do a search, there were some on the 50th of D DAY, CELEBRATIONS , cheers 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@SEAZNDragon]

Flew on an Airbus A300 from Germany to the US on an upper deck seat. One of the nicest planes I flew one. Also those outsize cargo planes like the Airbus Beluga are worth a video on their own either on Mega projects or Sideprojects.

[@flybyairplane3528]

SEAZNDragon, I believe you meant A380, rather than A300 ! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@SEAZNDragon]

@@flybyairplane3528 probably. I try to look up my old itinerary to confirm but it didn’t list the place. But it was an Airbus for sure and a nice place regardless.

[@thekeytoairpower]

16:55 Simon glosses over the fact that the very first trip in an a320 with civilian passengers, a publicity/marketing stunt, ended in it flying into a forest at the end of an airfield, resulting in the death of two children and a woman who heroically went back into the aircraft to try to save one of them.

[@Musikur]

I mean, one, that is not really relevant, the end result wasn't affected and Airbus did continue on, and two, the accident was blamed on Air France, not on Airbus anyway, so it's doubly not relevant.

[@Kadeo-ms6qw]

@@Musikur it was its Maiden flight, that’s highly relevant

[@CaptinRusko]

@@Kadeo-ms6qw it wasn't its maiden flight it was a display flight at the Habsheim Air Show. The aircraft was the 9th(I think) A320 to fly and had flown multiple times before it crashed.

[@grantbitman1448]

Also, he failed to mention their propensity for the tail falling off.

[@stevegiboney4493]

@@Musikur , yes and no, I’d bet my fortune there were software modifications after that crash. The pilot fought hard to tell his story about the airplane not cooperating when he pushed the throttles forward. Automation that doesn’t work perfectly and doesn’t allow the pilot final authority to what it will do can ruin your day.

[@angelitabecerra]

Now I need a video on the Airbus Beluga. Never thought I'd say a plane was cute, but that one is 😍

[@joshschneider9766]

man the comets engine cowls are sweet wonder what led the engineers to lose the aero shell shape

[@alhemmings8554]

Uncontained engine failures would be a good start, despite the pretty looks.

[@Musikur]

@@alhemmings8554 More to do with maintenance. It's much more difficult if you have to dig them out of the wing first. Also the move to High Bypass turbofans mean that the fairings have to be much larger, and start to take up the useful area of the wing. Basically there actually aren't very many reasons to keep them in the wing except slight aerodynamic improvements. Which is a shame because they did look awesome

[@anumeon]

So the first american airline to get the modern amazing new plane was led by one of the original NASA astronauts/Testpilots Frank Borman.. That is kinda cool actually....

[@stenic2]

Frank was a clever man and one of the best astronauts

[@stevendouglas8144]

Love the “Sleeping Man” art piece from KMCO! 😆

[@obelic71]

the new still being deliverd A330 MRT tankers flies often on aproach low over my house to land on the airbase. Very quite aircraft a cesna makes more noise. So yes i am happy Airbus sucseeded.

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@gooner72]

If you think that A350 has a 370 ETOPS rating, that was unthinkable back then when the A300 first arrived on the scene. That's 6 hours on ONE engine...... the 787 has slightly less at 330.

[@Ginrikuzuma]

Forget everything the main thing I am going to remember about this whole video is that Extended Range Twin Operations Engines turn or passengers swim LMAO

[@Sacto1654]

Actually, what saved the A300B program was Eastern Air Lines leasing four planes and finding out really fast they were more fuel efficient than the L-1011 and DC-10 on USA transcontinental routes. And the fact that Korean Air Lines placed a big order for the plane, which in turn got other Asian airlines to start buying them.

[@JaMeYc420]

You should really look into doing a video on the Idaho National Laboratory locally known as "The Site" where the world's first nuclear power station was built & also supplied power to the first town (Arco, Idaho) to receive 100% of its electricity from a nuclear reaction. Currently it's one of the main laboratories, if not THE main laboratory, doing cutting-edge research into nuclear power & weapons for the U.S .government, (both military & civilian, private & public sector) in order to maintain the United States' dominance over the rest of the world in both nuclear hased industries. The work they're doing on minuraturizing nuclear power plants for use on next generation submarines, aircraft carriers, and also NASA for their use in colonizing other celestial bodies like the moon & mars as well as their research attempting to build the world's first nuclear fusion reactor is really fascinating...

[@jacoboconnell7518]

That Business Blaze shoutout was absolute legend

[@TheRealRedRooster]

Well, if it is Boeing, I ain't going... :P

[@wings9925]

The Beluga tale though! 🤣👍

[@jofisk]

I would love to see a video on the Snowy River Hydro Scheme in Australia.

[@JC-fz2pv]

On a similar topic I think the 777 would make a good mega project. First commercial airliner designed entirely by a computer and its the safest wide body of all time.

[@Musikur]

Was designed entirely _on_ a computer, not by one. Besides, I think from memory they still did some wind tunnel tests, just not very many, only after major changes, not for each Integration.

[@JC-fz2pv]

@@Musikur Splitting hairs a bit there. It was the 1st commercial plane designed entirely by 3D computer graphics, that doesn’t mean there was 0 human input. It memory serves the wind tunnels were dune using small scale mock-ups. The most recent on the 777X was done using a 5.5% mock-up.

[@specialperson335]

Safest after a340 but abviously has an incredible amount more flights.

[@joesgarage96]

Hey Simon, You should cover the DeHavilland Beaver. They’re a bad ass plane and the equivalent of a city bus here in BC. Seriously about the best fucking plane ever built and has yet to have something equivalent ever built despite being 75+ years old. There are even several company in Seattle, Victoria, and Vancouver that rebuild Beavers that have crashed and make them able to fly again. It’s also not uncommon to see boats, atvs, and god only knows what else strapped to the pontoons up in Northern BC, Alberta, the Yukon and NWT

[@christiantosumbung5791]

Hilarious that whenever talking about widebody twin jets, the stock footage was of narrowbody jets.

[@jezza82]

Hey Simon! Is there any chance you could do a mega projects on the wind scale disaster?

[@jeremypearson6852]

Interesting stuff. I don’t see the Concorde as a failure, I mean it had one accident that was actually caused by runway debris. It was actually ahead of its time. As a former Eastern Airlines employee, I do think it was a smart move to provide the free planes. The rest as they say is history. An expat watching in Florida.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

One can visit a beautiful “see through” preserved A300 at the Toulouse Airport Museum

[@Penfold101]

Latest megaproject - Simon'sEpic Beard.

[@sanfranciscolight]

I LOVE that you are using Kevin McKloud, incomtech royalty free music! Shout out!

[@kiarashparandkam3722]

Love your videos

[@andrewmalik3737]

I believe American Airlines was the first and only US airline to use the A300-600. They called is the A300-605R. Panam used the A310 which is the same plane just with a slightly shorter fuselage.

[@andrewmalik3737]

Actually the A300B2 and B4 had a flight engineer. The A300-600 had a two-person cockpit.

[@shebbs1]

Some later B4's were definitely 2-person crew, though inital ones were not, and they were built that way, not retrofitted.

[@andrewmalik3737]

@@shebbs1 really? What year did this happen? Which airlines operated this version?

[@andrewhughes3683]

Watching and listening too Simon while working on airbus products is a bit meta today

[@beachboy0505]

Hold on : the head of an airline project is called 'Felix Crash 👀 ' ?

[@autohmae]

(edited to fix my mistake) His last name is Kracht, which is Dutch for power. in German better see TigruArdavi's comment.

[@beachboy0505]

@@autohmae respect 🙌

[@TigruArdavi]

@@autohmae total rubbish, it is *not* the German word for power, which is 'Kraft'. 'Kracht' would, incidentally, be the 3rd person singular (or 2nd person plural) present of the verb 'krachen' which means to crack or can indeed and funny enough, also mean, depending on the prefix or adverb it goes with, to crash into sth. or (loudly) break asunder. The noun 'Krach', in turn, means noise.

[@autohmae]

@@TigruArdavi shit, you are right. It's just true in Dutch. It's a 'false friend' of the German word.

[@Carewolf]

To be fair, America invested heavily in its aircraft industry as well. Europe had to match the US state support or have its manufactoring wiped out.

[@MrTexasDan]

To be fairer yet, America's heavy investment was in its purchase of warplanes from Boeing ... to protect Europe ... while Europe directly subsidized Airbus with corporate welfare ... to wipe out Boeing.

[@Musikur]

@@MrTexasDan Now there's an informed opinion...

[@Carewolf]

@@MrTexasDan Sure, sponsoring commercial planes because you need those in war.... I am sure that makes sense in your head

[@MrTexasDan]

@@Carewolf I'm not sure why you feel the need to be defensive and insulting. Here, let me type slowly ... Boeing was not sponsored or subsidized by the US government. It was however a huge vendor of expensive aircraft to the US military. These aircraft were then largely used to protect Europe from the Soviet scourge. So, while the American taxpayer was spending its treasure protecting Europe, Europe was directly subsidizing Airbus with the stated goal of taking out Boeing.

[@Carewolf]

@@MrTexasDan So, they were never given say billions to compete against Concorde.. You can look it up, they were given money to develop civil aviation