Airbus Beluga XL: a new cargo fleet completes its inaugural flight

G They stay patiently in the scorching heat and seem fascinated in the sky. When the huge plane, reminiscent of a smiling whale, finally appears on the horizon and begins to land at 14:41, they cheer or wave flags. Hundreds of Airbus and subcontractors gathered in Toulouse that day to witness the maiden flight of the Beluga XL

. They delighted the cameras as captain Christophe Cail, co-driver Bernardo Saez-Benito and test engineers A little later, Jean Michel Pin, Philippe Foucault and Laurent Lapierre open the tailgate and wave the loading ramp.

The first flight of the new freighter lasted four hours and eleven minutes. Inside, it can accommodate seven elephants or two wings of the A350 long-haul jet, while its predecessor could only carry one A350 wing. At 18.90 meters, it is as tall as a three-story building – and 1.70 meters higher than its predecessor Beluga, which is officially called the A300-600ST.

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At the same time, the Beluga XL is 63 meters and seven meters higher than the previous model. Its payload drops from 47 tons to 53 tons, which is about the weight of 37 adult beluga whales. In the Beluga XL, two other employees can fly into the cockpit and a small compartment directly behind them, making a total of seven people instead of five

Complete test program completed

Airbus had decided late 2014 to replace the current Beluga fleet Replacement model based on the A330-200 freighter. The first Beluga XL is expected to go into service next year. A total of five copies of the cargo giant will be integrated into the fleet by 2023. The five belugas currently used by the builder will be phased out of the fleet between 2021 and 2025. What will happen to them next will not occur. has not been decided yet.

However, before the new Beluga XL can begin its service, it must still complete a comprehensive test program in order to obtain the approval of the European Agency Aviation Safety (EASA). The flight test program is expected to last about 600 hours, according to program director Bertrand George.

For Airbus, the new cargo plane is a workhorse, without which the growing production of the A350 long-haul jet and the A320 medium-haul aircraft would be unmanageable. Thanks to the greater payload of Beluga, the aircraft manufacturer can now move even more aircraft parts between different locations. Thus, the wings are made for all models in the UK, fuselage parts in Germany, France and Spain. The planes are then assembled in Hamburg, Toulouse, Tianjin in China and Mobile in the United States.

Earlier with the Super Guppy

The five smaller Beluga models traveled about 10,000 hours last year and on average each week performed more than 65 flights between eleven different sites in Europe. They work six times a day, seven days a week, from six in the morning until midnight. Your crew is composed of a pilot, a co-pilot and a flight engineer. Even his American rival Boeing carries plane parts between different places in special transport machines. He uses four 747 Dreamlifters.

The predecessor of the Beluga XL with his smiling face completed his maiden flight on September 13, 1994. Before that, Airbus life began in the belly of a Boeing. Because until the certification of Belugas 1995, the aircraft manufacturer has transported aircraft parts in a modified version of the 377 Stratocruiser, the Super Guppy. The colorful cargo plane named after the popular aquarium fish is located in the Aeroscopia Airplane Museum in Toulouse, near the room where the Beluga XL is currently built.

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Cargo aircraft also play a major role at the Farnborough show, which will end this Sunday. The industry meeting has dedicated them a special exhibition space this year. Like the giant whales, both 747-8F and Antonov An-124 with their mouths upside down seem to be there. The beluga, on the other hand, can not be seen in the so-called Cargo Village. Because Airbus uses the cargo plane exclusively for its own needs. Until now, it is not planned to sell the Beluga to its customers, said an Airbus spokeswoman. But why not sell the old copies if they are now eliminated, she said.

The Cargo Aircraft Market Attracts

Interested parties are certain. After all, the cargo market is picking up again. This was also evident at the Farnborough Air Show's Professional Visitors Days. For example, over the past few days, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has announced firm orders and purchase intentions for 95 freighters such as the 747-8F, 777F and 737 medium-haul jets converted to cargo versions.

"Carriers play a key role in many aspects of this fair," says Boeing marketing director Randy Tinseth. "In the last two years, we have seen a significant increase in air cargo." The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) information request in 2017 has therefore increased by 9%, or more twice as much as last year.

"Air cargo has seen the strongest growth since the resumption of the global financial crisis in 2010," said Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive officer of IATA. And the outlook for this year remains robust. This is partly due to the fact that the economy of many countries has recovered and the production of the industry is increasing again. In addition, global e-commerce and the transportation of time- and temperature-sensitive goods such as medicines are on the rise.

Boeing estimates global demand for new cargo aircraft at 980 over the next 20 years, including 510 wide-body aircraft such as 747-8F or 777F and 470 medium-sized aircraft like the 767-300F. At the same time, the US aircraft manufacturer predicts a need for 1670 jet aircraft converted to cargo in its latest long-term forecasts. And from 2021, the old Beluga models of Airbus could again have a new owner in the operators of the cargo fleet