NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The Airbus A330 uses the same fuselage for six aircraft variants. Pilots who fly the family of aircraft will find nearly identical cockpits and controls in all of the aircraft.
The benefit of the common design is to minimize expenses while maximizing profits. This is accomplished because the aircraft are designed to operate on routes from regional to international. Sharing the same fuselage keeps aircraft production costs down. Having identical cockpits keeps the cost of pilot training down.
Fly by wire controls, activated by jet fighter-like side sticks, keep the aircraft stable and lower the chance of pilot fatigue. Cockpits are all glass and equipped with the most advanced avionics.
While the 18.5 foot wide airframe offers high passenger comfort, the lower deck cargo areas can carry cargo pallets and containers. The ability to accommodate up to twice the cargo of similar size aircraft makes the A330 profitable as freight transports when they can not be flying passengers.
The aircraft cabin is the highest in its class. This allows for additional overhead storage capacity and easier access. Airbus tells us that the average interior noise levels in their A330 aircraft are fifty percent quieter than other similar aircraft.
Composites used in aircraft construction reduce corrosion, keep overall weight to a minimum, and provide a strong airframe and wings.
The wings of the A330 are made to distribute lift evenly over their entire area. This keeps their weight down while providing positive aircraft control from minimal
takeoff and landing speeds up to high cruising speeds.
Less drag and weight for the engines to overcome mean greater fuel economy. This translates to lower operating costs.
To date some 663 Airbus A330 aircraft of all types have been produced. Over 60 airlines are using them around the world.
transport
two
RR Trent
2 x 71,100 lbs. ea.
264,00 lbs.
510,000 lbs.
245,000 lbs.
293 (2 class)
192' 11"
197' 10"
537 mph
563 mph
2,420 fpm
41,500 feet
7,770 miles
11/2/92
1994
Airbus A330 MRTT
A F-18 taking on fuel from an A330 MRTT.
A variant of the Airbus A330-200 airliner is the A330 MRTT Multi Role Tanker Transport. It is available with a centerline refueling boom and a pair
of hose and drogue pods from its wings. The refueling systems are operated from the aircraft flight deck. They are compatible with all NATO aircraft. The MRTT taker is itself capable of being refueled while in flight.
In addition to air to air refueling, the A330 MRTT can seat up to 380 troops, or handle 99,000 lbs. of equipment while operating as a cargo hauler. It can also carry up to 180 liters for medical transport.
To date Australia has ordered five of the aircraft, Great Britain fourteen, Saudi Arabia six, and the UAE three. The USAF ordered 179 of the air tankers, but the order was canceled.
As of this writing the USAF has changed their requirements and now favors a smaller size aircraft for their air tanker program.
Radio Control Airplane
A rc Airbus A330 from Mes-Avions-rc.net.
Radio Control Airplanes
The picture above is of the rc Airbus A330 from the Mes-Avions-rc.net site. The scale rc airplane has a 148 1/2" wingspan with a length of 156".
Power comes from a pair of JetCat P80 turbines.
There is a build thread for a rc Airbus A330 EDF in RC Groups started by Dani. The scale model has a wingspan and length of 98", is made from Depron, and uses Speed 480 motors turning mini fans for power.
The first picture below is of the giant scale Airbus A330 scale rc airplane built by Dave Johnson. Its wingspan is 192" and weight 66 lbs. Twin TJT 3000 turbines provide 20 lbs. of thrust each.
The next picture down is of master builder Peter Michel and friends with the rc Airbus A330 for sale from Rauch-Airliner.com. It has a wingspan of 148" and a length of 157". Weight is about 42 lbs. For power it needs a pair of
at least 17 lb. ea. thrust turbines.
The third picture down is of the rc Airbus A330, also for sale by Rausch, built by Kim Contento. Its wingspan is 148" and length is 145". Weight is around 41 lbs.
You may want to check out the video on You Tube of a rc Airbus A330 all lit up.
Another posting on You Tube by Will France shows his giant scale rc Airbus A330 landing on a dirt runway.
A final posting, to date, on You Tube is of the great looking Airbus A330 scale model radio control airplane taking off right down the center of a paved runway.
Jamara has a rc A330 with a wingspan of 55" and a length of 59". It needs motors to power 66 mm EDF units. Weight is about 3 1/2 lbs.
There is a posting from Ward in RC Groups who is looking for plans for a foamy rc Airbus A330 with a wingspan from 60" to 72".
The bottom picture is of the giant scale rc Airbus A330 built by Michael Cortello. It has a 12 foot wingspan and weighs about 40 lbs. Michael powers
his scale model rc airplane with JetCat P70 turbine engines.
Please email us if you know of another rc Airbus A330 we need to include on this page.
Airbus A330
