A gigantic whale plane attracts laughter and curiosity on its first flight

A starticular whale plane flew all eyes this week during its premiere. It is a modified machine, which took off from the international airport of Toulouse Blagnac, in the south of France. He was quickly labeled as the "white whale".

This is a cargo plane called Airbus A330-743 Beluga XL. Although the main role was taken by its curious form, the reality is that it will work to transport parts of a large part of the Airbus aircraft.

The intention is to effectively mobilize pieces from different parts of the world. The company has factories in France, Germany, Spain, China and the United Kingdom. This is why its whale shape is not accidental. The set will be taken to the Toulouse factory, where they will gather.

The initial flight of this week lasted four hours and it was tested in the Pyrenees and part of the Mediterranean before returning to Toulouse. The gigantic aircraft measures 18.9 meters high, 63.1 meters long and a fuselage with a diameter of 8.8 meters. Bertrand George, director of the Beluga XL program, explained the process mentioning:

(We start from one) A330, from which we modified the wings, engines and the lower part of the fuselage (… ) This is an excellent, robust platform. "

All, to replace the current Beluga ST aircraft. As mentioned by the company, the program, which was under construction since 2014, aims to build five XL specimens and will begin to be operational from 2019.