THE FIRST A320 HAD A LONG WORKING LIFE AFTER ITS FIRST FLIGHT
A prototype is not finished with its work when the first airline aircraft arrives. Airbus retained the first A320 as a test aircraft for decades. In its 2017 retrospective, the manufacturer recorded that 110 test pilots had flown it and that its work had included evaluations of 29 different engines. The aircraft later served as Flight Lab 1 for Clean Sky and SESAR research, before retirement in 2016. Its career connects the original programme to continuing development rather better than a photograph of a ceremonial rollout alone. [182, A320 no.1 testbed career; Flight Lab 1; retirement in 2016]
Archive images need a date and a purpose. The first A320 could look familiar while carrying engines, instruments or test equipment unlike an airline example. A prototype photograph shows a particular test configuration, rather than a universal specification. [182, A320 no.1 testbed career and first-flight archive] [184, Development; first prototype and engine testing]
The A320 prototype as shown in Airbus' first-flight anniversary archive. Its later testbed career lasted decades. Photograph: Airbus archive. [182]
The original A320 test crew beside the prototype. The image comes from the manufacturer's first-flight retrospective. Photograph: Airbus archive. [182]