Page 29 - World Airnews Magazine November 2020

AIRCRAFT

THE UPWARD SLOPING REAR

WINDOW

The modified BLADE test aircraft Airbus A340 outer wing
section show cased at the ILA Berlin Air show in 2018

By Jake Hardiman

also saw the topic discussed in greater Particularly in the current aviation
detail on Quora. climate, where more and more passenger

he Airbus A340 has several features aircraft are being used as ‘preighters,’ this
Tthat make it an instantly recogniz- NOT EXCLUSIVE TO THE A340 is a handy feature. Maaz added that the

able aircraft. For example, it is a rarity in The sloped rear windows are, in fact, feature also “[reduced] design cost, and

being a four-engine widebody airliner with a feature that can be found on more most importantly it gave the aircraft an

only one passenger deck. Airbus aircraft than just the A340. Indeed, increased cabin space.”
This places it in contrast to the dou- Airliners.net user ‘bohica’ states that it is This was because the slope meant that

ble-decker Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 an aspect commonly found among Airbus “the entire passenger cabin floor did not
‘superjumbo.’ widebodies. Furthermore, the Quora have to be raised.”

Furthermore, the A340-600 variant is thread title discussing the topic acknowl- The Airbus A340 is also well known
strikingly long and thin in its design, to an edges that this curious slope is present on among avgeeks for its long and shallow

almost disproportionate extent. the A300, A310, A330, and A340. take-off runs.
However, there is another feature that REASONS FOR THE SLOPE As such, Quora user and commercial pilot
sets it apart, namely its upwards-sloping There are practical reasons why the A340’s Eric Larsen states that this is also a factor in

rear windows. However, what is the reason rear windows and fuselage floor slope the type’s sloped rear fuselage design.

for this design quirk? As such, “the aircraft shape is made to
upwards towards its tail. Airliners.net user reduce the possibility of an expensive tail
A LONG-DISCUSSED DESIGN ASPECT ‘bohica,’ for example, states that the slope scrape.” Larsen also adds that there are

The Airbus A340 was launched commer- is “only one degree, but it is noticeable.” aerodynamic advantages to the design.

cially by Lufthansa in March 1993, and 2021 It apparently reflects Airbus’s desire “to This is because it produces less drag than a

will mark the 30th anniversary of the type’s maintain cargo space” below the cabin. conventionally-shaped fuselage.

first test flight. User ‘United1’ backs this point up. They All in all, the Airbus A340’s numerous

Admittedly, the discussion concerning its state that the design quirk results from design quirks render it to be a particularly

upwards-sloping rear windows hasn’t been “the positioning of the cargo/baggage iconic airliner. However, its future is uncer-

raging on for quite so long. Nonetheless, containers in the hold.” tain. Production ceased in 2011, and the

this aspect has still been a topic of online On Quora, Airbus A320/321 pilot Anas drop in passenger demand caused by the
discussion forums for several years. Maaz details further the fact that the raised ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused

A quick search reveals that users on cabin floor functions like a ramp. This, in increasing retirements among the type.

Airliners.net, for example, were pondering turn, “[accommodates] for more ULDs (Unit Here’s to hoping we can continue to see
the reason for the sloped windows as early Load Devices), which [increases] the cargo its sloped rear fuselage in the skies for

as 2009. More recently, September 2020 capacity of the aircraft.” many years to come. Q
World Airnews | November / December 2020
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