A320: LAUNCH, FIRST FLIGHT AND FIRST DELIVERY
The A320 programme was launched in March 1984. It opened a single-aisle product line and committed Airbus to digital fly-by-wire with an associated flight-deck philosophy. The investment connected the individual aircraft with a larger commercial ambition: a platform capable of supporting a family and a consistent approach to future flight decks. [15, Programme launch and fly-by-wire]
The alternative V2500 programme was launched in 1984 and entered revenue service with the V2500-A1 in 1989. The later A5 family and SelectOne development belong to subsequent stages. That progression explains why an historical photograph of an early IAE-powered A320 is not sufficient evidence for the exact engine standard, rating or performance data of a later Fenix livery. [16, Programme milestones]
The propulsion history needs the same precision as the airframe chronology. CFM states that the first A320 entered service with the CFM56-5A in 1988 and that the higher-thrust-range CFM56-5B followed in 1994. The 1996 certification of the -5B/P was another development milestone. A CFM56-5B-equipped Fenix aircraft consequently represents an evolved engine standard, rather than reproducing the propulsion fit of the first airline A320. [17, Engine chronology]
The first A320 flew on 22 February 1987. Airbus records a flight lasting 3 hours 23 minutes. This is a test-programme milestone, separate from first customer delivery in 1988. The manufacturer chronology records26March 1988 as the first A320 delivery to Air France. Launch, first flight and delivery consequently occupy different places in the story. [18, First-flight anniversary] [19, Programme main dates; 26 March 1988 first A320 delivery]
The early family included an A320-100 as well as an A320-200. The 1998 manufacturer briefing lists them separately. An old A320 reference therefore needs its full model identity before its specifications can be interpreted. The Fenix aircraft should be identified through its installed variant and configuration rather than assumed to reproduce every historical engine, mass standard or avionics fit. [4, PDF pp. 7–8]