chornedsnorkack
13th Oct 2005, 14:57
What exactly is the definition of a "widebody"?
On a commercial passenger plane, it is relatively clear.
Narrowbodies are narrower than 400 cm - I think Airbus 318-321 is the widest, with 395 cm. The reason is that the liners have one aisle in the middle and seats on the sides. 3 on either side is comfortably to Coach standards accommodated in 376 cm of Boeing 707 width, so anything over 400 cm is a waste, excess weight and skin drag, so no one builds them. Tridents have 1 aisle and 3 on one side, 4 on the other, but no one else has 4 to a side.
Widebodies are wider than 500 cm, because they have 2 aisles and seat at least 7 abreast - Boeing 767 is the narrowest. 2 aisles with 6 abreast seating is only used in business class - no one builds 2-aisle planes narrower than 500 cm.
But what about devoted freighters? They are not supposed to have passenger seating, so the considerations about the number of aisles and number of seats abreast do not apply!
Are there any devoted freighters which are in their outside width between 400 and 500 cm, so that they fall between narrowbodies and widebodies?
On a commercial passenger plane, it is relatively clear.
Narrowbodies are narrower than 400 cm - I think Airbus 318-321 is the widest, with 395 cm. The reason is that the liners have one aisle in the middle and seats on the sides. 3 on either side is comfortably to Coach standards accommodated in 376 cm of Boeing 707 width, so anything over 400 cm is a waste, excess weight and skin drag, so no one builds them. Tridents have 1 aisle and 3 on one side, 4 on the other, but no one else has 4 to a side.
Widebodies are wider than 500 cm, because they have 2 aisles and seat at least 7 abreast - Boeing 767 is the narrowest. 2 aisles with 6 abreast seating is only used in business class - no one builds 2-aisle planes narrower than 500 cm.
But what about devoted freighters? They are not supposed to have passenger seating, so the considerations about the number of aisles and number of seats abreast do not apply!
Are there any devoted freighters which are in their outside width between 400 and 500 cm, so that they fall between narrowbodies and widebodies?