AIRBUS A318 FRONTIER 1/144 Eastern Express 14434

AIRBUS A318 FRONTIER 
1/144 scale plastic model kit
Eastern Express 14434

Manufacturer: Eastern Express (Russia)
Scale: 1/144
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box

The Airbus A318 is the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie. The A318 carries up to 132 passengers and has a maximum range of 3,100 nmi (5,700 km; 3,600 mi). Final assembly of the aircraft takes place in Toulouse, France.

The aircraft shares a common type rating with all other Airbus A320 family variants, allowing existing A320 family pilots to fly the aircraft without the need for further training. It is the largest commercial aircraft certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency for steep approach operations, allowing flights at airports such as London City.

The A318 entered service in July 2003 with Frontier Airlines. Relative to other Airbus A320 family variants, it has sold in only small numbers with total orders for only 81 aircraft placed as of 30 November 2012 and after subsequent cancellations and one final delivery in 2013 the order book is now empty with 79 aircraft delivered.he first member of the A320 family was the A320 which was launched in March 1984 and first flew on 22 February 1987. The family was soon extended to include the A321 (first delivered 1994), the A319 (1996), and the A318 (2003). The A320 family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire flight control systems, as well as side stick controls, in commercial aircraft.

The A318 was born out of mid-1990s studies between Aviation Industries of China (AVIC), Singapore Technologies Aerospace, Aleniaand Airbus on a 95- to 125-seat aircraft project. The programme was called the AE31X, and covered the 95-seat AE316 and 115- to 125-seat AE317. The former was to have an overall length of 31.3 metres (102 ft 8 in), while the AE317 would be longer by 3.2 metres (10 ft 6 in), at 34.5 metres (113 ft 2 in).The engines would be supplied from two BMW Rolls-Royce BR715s, CFM56-9s, or Pratt & Whitney PW6000s; with a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 53.3 tonnes (118,000 lb) for the smaller version and 58 tonnes (128,000 lb) for the AE317. The thrust requirements were 77.9–84.6 kilonewtons (17,500–19,000 lbf) and 84.6–91.2 kilonewtons (19,000–20,500 lbf), respectively. Range was settled at 5,200 kilometres (2,800 nmi) and 5,800 kilometres (3,100 nmi) for the high gross weight versions of both variants. Both would share a wingspan of 31.0 metres (101 ft 8 in) and a flight deck similar to that of the A320 family. Costing $2 billion to develop, aircraft production was to take place in China.The aircraft is powered by two CFM56-5 or Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines with thrust ratings of between 96 and 106 kilonewtons (21,600 and 23,800 lbf). Launch customers Frontier Airlines and Air France took deliveries in 2003, with Frontier receiving its aircraft in July of that year. The list price of an A318 ranges from $56 to $62 million, and operating costs are between $2,500 and $3,000 for each flight hour.

Orders for the A318 have been relatively slow, but better than for its direct competitor the Boeing 737–600. At 30 September 2011, Airbus had received 81 orders for this model compared to 69 for the 737-600. The sales pace has been influenced by the strong sales of the Bombardier CRJ900 and Embraer E-Jets series. The biggest A318 customers are Air France with 18; Frontier Airlines, 10 (+ 1 order); Avianca, 10, LAN Airlines, 20 orders; and Mexicana, 10 orders.