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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Airbus developed the A310 to serve a market below the larger A300. The first prototype flew in 1982, and the type entered airline service the following year. Its broad fuselage and two underwing engines retain the family resemblance, but it brought a new wing and a shorter cabin. The A310-300 extended the design's range and used fuel in the horizontal stabilizer for trim management.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Helping create a new weightless laboratory
Delesalle helped develop the A310 Zero G's special parabolic-flight display and carried out many of its tests. In DLR's interview, his attachment to the aircraft is clear: the programme combined developing a new tool with the demanding manual flying he already enjoyed on the A300. Development-simulator work helped the team design the display and introduce pilots to it, followed by training flights in the actual aircraft.
DLR brochure, August 2015 imprint; PDF pp.11–12 / printed pp.20–23. Modified A310 Zero G; complete interview read.
German Aerospace Center (DLR) · Read more ↗A pre-sidestick Airbus flight deck
The A310 guide covers hydraulic-system checks, pitch trim and yaw-damper activation in the context of inertial-reference alignment. It also documents rudder trim. These separate controls are part of the aircraft's older Airbus cockpit architecture, distinct from the automatic-trim sidestick family that followed.
A310-300 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 / MSFS 2020
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Air-Clips.com · 4 min ·
German Air Force Crew at Work! Airbus A310-300 Takeoff from Cologne [AirClips]
A German Air Force crew departs Cologne in an A310-300.
Real aircraft · Airbus A310-300
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Airbus A310-300
Airbus developed the A310 to serve a market below the larger A300. The first prototype flew in 1982, and the type entered airline service the following year. Its broad fuselage and two underwing engines retain the family resemblance, but it brought a new wing and a shorter cabin.
The A310-300 extended the design's range and used fuel in the horizontal stabilizer for trim management. Electronic displays and flight management sit alongside controls that predate the A320's sidestick fly-by-wire family.
Airbus A310-300
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Development milestones
First flight: 3 April 1982 ( 1982-04-03 )
Developed from: Airbus A300
Wikipedia contributors · Airbus A310 ↗Airbus A310 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1369233900
Pilot accounts
Helping create a new weightless laboratory
Delesalle helped develop the A310 Zero G's special parabolic-flight display and carried out many of its tests. In DLR's interview, his attachment to the aircraft is clear: the programme combined developing a new tool with the demanding manual flying he already enjoyed on the A300. Development-simulator work helped the team design the display and introduce pilots to it, followed by training flights in the actual aircraft.
Comparing the two research aircraft, he preferred the A310's newer navigation equipment and more comfortable operation, while their shared systems architecture made the conversion familiar. He also found the shorter aircraft easier to fly. Thousands of parabolas had not removed the challenge. He describes the concentration and accuracy the manoeuvres require, and the satisfaction of hearing that the scientists obtained good results. The campaign's close contact between flight crew and researchers was part of its appeal.
DLR brochure, August 2015 imprint; PDF pp.11–12 / printed pp.20–23. Modified A310 Zero G; complete interview read.
Read the full account · German Aerospace Center (DLR) ↗Learning the Airbus as East Germany changed
Hakansson recalls being selected for A310 first-officer duties in 1988 after years alternating between navigator and pilot work on Interflug's Tu-134s. Airbus conversion training took him to Toulouse in autumn 1989. He remembers following the political changes at home on television in France while learning the new aircraft. The A310 subsequently carried him to destinations including Havana, Beijing, Bangkok and Dubai.
His memories connect that long-haul opportunity with the circumstances of being an East German airline pilot. Permission to fly outside socialist countries had previously been restricted and withdrawn, then restored before the change of government. Flying brought access to places and people many of his compatriots could not visit, but long absences were difficult for his family when international calls were expensive. In this 2018 career interview, the Airbus marks a personal and historical transition; he does not offer a detailed handling assessment.
Ted Wende interview, Austrian Wings, 8 April 2018. Retrospective A310 conversion and Interflug career account; full interview read.
Read the full account · Austrian Wings ↗A remembered approach into Kathmandu
Asked about the happiest moments in her flying career, Pflaum returns to Kathmandu in the A310. The rotation ran from Frankfurt through Karachi, where the crew stayed overnight, before continuing to Nepal and returning by the same route. She remembers the daylight view and the demanding arrival into the high-elevation airport with particular enthusiasm. That specific trip stands out within a much longer career across several Airbus and McDonnell Douglas types.
The wider interview explains why the experience stayed with her: curiosity about places and a continuing enjoyment of aircraft remained central to the job. By the 2024 interview, she was also an instructor who emphasised constructive feedback, teamwork and decision-making. Her Kathmandu recollection is an airline pilot's personal memory, accompanied by that later professional perspective; the article supplies no detailed account of the A310's approach procedure or handling.
aeroTELEGRAPH interview, 14 April 2024. A310 Kathmandu recollection within a mixed-fleet career interview; full text read.
Read the full account · aeroTELEGRAPH ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024A310-300
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
A310-300
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020A310-300
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
A310-300
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
X-Plane 12Airbus A310-304
CremonaSoft · Released
Airbus A310-304
CremonaSoft · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 46.66 m (153 ft 1 in) |
| Wingspan | 43.90 m (144 ft 0.3 in) |
| Height | 15.867 m (52 ft 0.7 in) at operating empty weight |
| Wing area | 219.00 m² (2,357.3 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 79,166 kg (174,528 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 164,000 kg (361,557 lb) |
| Powerplant | 2 × Pratt & Whitney PW4156A high bypass turbofan , 249.08 kN (56,000 lbf) thrust each |
| Maximum speed | Mach 0.84 |
| Range | 9,540 km (5,930 mi, 5,150 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 12,530 m (41,100 ft) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
A pre-sidestick Airbus flight deckA310-300 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 / MSFS 2020
The A310 guide covers hydraulic-system checks, pitch trim and yaw-damper activation in the context of inertial-reference alignment. It also documents rudder trim. These separate controls are part of the aircraft's older Airbus cockpit architecture, distinct from the automatic-trim sidestick family that followed.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.16-19; after-start preparation
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Helping create a new weightless laboratoryDLR brochure, August 2015 imprint; PDF pp.11–12 / printed pp.20–23. Modified A310 Zero G; complete interview read.
Delesalle helped develop the A310 Zero G's special parabolic-flight display and carried out many of its tests. In DLR's interview, his attachment to the aircraft is clear: the programme combined developing a new tool with the demanding manual flying he already enjoyed on the A300. Development-simulator work helped the team design the display and introduce pilots to it, followed by training flights in the actual aircraft.
Eric Delesalle
German Aerospace Center (DLR) · Read the source ↗Learning the Airbus as East Germany changedTed Wende interview, Austrian Wings, 8 April 2018. Retrospective A310 conversion and Interflug career account; full interview read.
Hakansson recalls being selected for A310 first-officer duties in 1988 after years alternating between navigator and pilot work on Interflug's Tu-134s. Airbus conversion training took him to Toulouse in autumn 1989. He remembers following the political changes at home on television in France while learning the new aircraft. The A310 subsequently carried him to destinations including Havana, Beijing, Bangkok and Dubai.
Wolfgang Hakansson
Austrian Wings · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
Airbus A310-304 — product listingAirbus A310-304 · X-Plane 12
Product listing captured 2026-09-23; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
store.x-plane.org · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
A310_MSFS_Manual v2Microsoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Airbus A310Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1369233900 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft MSFS 2020 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Product
Airbus A310-304-CremonaSoft-A310store.x-plane.org · Product listing captured 2026-09-23; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 3 profile choices
CremonaSoft Airbus A310-304
CremonaSoft · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
CremonaSoft Airbus A310-304: A conventional powered-control starting law supplies yoke resistance; the A310's autoflight state does not define an external servo position.
CremonaSoft Airbus A310-304 MRTT
CremonaSoft · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
CremonaSoft Airbus A310-304 MRTT: A conventional powered-control starting law supplies yoke resistance; the A310's autoflight state does not define an external servo position.
Airbus A310-300
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Airbus A310-300: A conventional powered-control starting law supplies yoke resistance; the A310's autoflight state does not define an external servo position.
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