Today we'll be flying the Airbus A318-111 from Rome, Italy to Gibralter Airport. Gibralter airport is listed as one of the most dangerous airports in the world. it has a street that crosses the runway with traffic lights to stop vehicles when an aircraft is coming in for landing. The runway is very short and it has water on both end of the runway. As if that were not enough. The runway has no navigational aids, so it will be a purely visual landing without the use of autopilot. The Airbus A318 is the smallest of the A320 family and is known as "The Baby Bus" as it is a very short aircraft. Used mostly for commuter flights between smaller rural and regional airports, the A318 is popular in locations where small airports are being used. Below are the specifications of the A318-111:
length - 103 ft 2 in
Wingspan - 111 ft 11 in
Tail Height - 41 ft 2 in
Cabin Width - 12 ft 2 in
Operating empty weight - 87,100 lb
Maximum Takeoff Weight - 150,000 lb
Cruise Speed - Mach 0.78
Maximum Speed - Mach 0.82
Range - 3100 nm
Fuel Capacity - 6400 US Gals, 24,210 liters
Engines - CFM56-5B
Thrust - 21,600 lbf
The A318 is a very easy aircraft to fly and is very forgiving. It is easy to taxi on small taxiways as it very short, you don't have to worry about the main landing gear cutting off the turn on top the grass. The aircraft has an excellent thrust to weight ratio making it a good climber and it's fairly fast for it's size with a typical cruise speed of mach 0.78 to 0.80 depending on altitude and weather conditions.
I hope you enjoy this video of the A318-111 departing Rome italy for Gibraltar i appreciate any comments or questions you might have.