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It's still unclear if pigs can fly – but you will not be angry if you spot a whale pbading by your window anytime soon because the Airbus Beluga XL – nicknamed the "whale in the sky "took off for the
It took off from Toulouse airport in France this morning for its maiden flight.
A crowd of more than 10,000 people, mostly employees and subcontractors of the European aircraft manufacturer, applauded.
Airbus personnel waved flags while Beluga was preparing its test flight
The aircraft was designed to move aircraft components. Oversized aircraft and has an additional capacity of 30% on current Beluga aircraft that it will replace
. This new aircraft s six meters longer and one meter wider, which means that it can carry two A350 XWB aircraft wings instead of one.
This extra space in the "bubble" – which makes room for a main deck with direct loading capabilities – gives the plane its unique appearance.
Airbus painted the mouth of a whale and his eyes on the side of the nose as a sign of whale.
The aircraft, which weighs 125 tons, can carry up to 53 tons in hold over a distance of more than 4,000 kilometers.
To power such a heavy aircraft, there are two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 Turbofan engines – both with a thrust of 316 The Beluga XL program was launched in November 2014, with Oversized transporter that will serve to transport complete sections of Airbus aircraft from different production sites in Europe up to the final badembly lines in Toulouse in France and Hamburg in Germany. 1965-19002] Tim Orr, Branding Manager at Airbus, said: "The six models we have offered to employees have respected our brand identity by moving from conventional to unconventional, even adding a touch of fun. "
tweeted: "Whale, whale, whale … it's a beautiful day for an inaugural flight, is not it?"
Five whale planes will be put into service in the future.
This article was originally published in The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.
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