THREE HISTORIES, THREE DIFFERENT CLOCKS
An Airbus airframe has a development history, an airline service history and a continuing modification history. A simulator adds another clock: the release of its own software. Keeping those clocks separate explains why a 1980s cockpit concept can coexist with later engines, modern wingtip devices and a 2026 flight-warning implementation. The history here follows the real aircraft first. The subsequent Fenix chapter follows the simulation. Neither chronology replaces checking the aircraft actually loaded.
A programme launch authorises a project. Rollout presents an assembled aircraft. First flight begins airborne testing. Certification approves a defined design. Delivery transfers an aircraft to its customer; entry into service begins airline operations. Those events can fall in different years. The A350 illustrates the distinction: first flight in 2013, first delivery in December 2014 and commercial service in January 2015. [2, A350 programme; first delivery22 December 2014] [3, A350Family story; January 2015 service entry]
Read historical specifications with the same discipline as an aircraft status page. A maximum mass belongs to an approved model and modification standard, while a brochure range depends on assumptions. The 1998 Airbus briefing explicitly presents a snapshot that will not be updated. Its value here is showing what the family looked like then; its old limits do not become current Fenix settings merely because the document carries an Airbus name. [4, PDF p. 1]