Airbus Beluga XL Whale Takes Flight for the First Time

CNBC ^ | Thursday, Jul 19, 2018 | Dylan Thursday, Jul 19, 2018

[BenLurkin]

The super-transporter is one of the largest aircraft in existence, six meters longer and one meter wider than its predecessor, the BelugaST transporter. The flight, which took-off from Blagnac in Toulouse, signified the start of a 10-month testing period before the plane can start flying commercially. Typically, the Beluga series has been used by Airbus to transport aircraft wings from factories to its assembly lines in Europe.

One wing factory is sited at Hawarden airport in North Wales. To allow the supersized plane to land, Hawarden is erecting new blast fences and resurfacing its runway.

[BenLurkin]

[dfwgator]

Why is the first thing that comes to mind is, “Oh, the humanity!”

[FatherofFive]

Interisting. I thought it would be more efficient to manufacture such huge parts at the assembly location

[Pelham]

??

How many plane tickets do whales buy?

[Blue Jays]

Wow! Very fast and sleek-looking airplane.

[rockinqsranch]

We had the “Pregnant Guppy” here in the USA until it was retired in 1979. It was designed to carry oversized freight, space craft, and components.

There was another one I used to see around called “Super Guppy”. I looked it up, and apparently it’s still in service.

[G Larry]

A "take off" from the Super Guppy.

>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy

[BenLurkin]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Beluga

[House Atreides]

Will this be Michael Moore’s personal plane?

[BenLurkin]

Oops.

This one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Beluga_XL

[M Kehoe]

Wow, Dolphin Airways.

5.56mm

[Red Badger]

Hilliary’s 2020 Campaign Plane!.......................

[RegulatorCountry]

Not the most stable looking thing, I’m assuming a lot of electronically controlled gyroscopes are involved in keeping that blimp upright and airborne.

[Texas resident]

Hillary needs this size of plane to carry all her cash and liquor.

[Calvin Locke]

FWIR from a really old thread, the ESA’s Guppy was said to be a ripoff of a Boeing design.

[Hostage]

I'm sure Boeing has something even larger in the works.

[fella]

The paint sceme shows a sense of humor.

[newfreep]

The painted face reminds me of the Lunar Lander in "2001"

[Yo-Yo]

Interisting. I thought it would be more efficient to manufacture such huge parts at the assembly location

Airbus is a consortium of European countries including the U.K., Spain, France, and Germany.

Because of this, work is spread among the partner countries. So while it may be more economically efficient to build the wings and fuselage where final assembly occurs (usually Toulouse, France, or Hamburg, Germany,) it is not politically efficient to the health of Airbus to deny jobs to the partner countries.

[Charles Martel]

Why is the first thing that comes to mind is, “Oh, the humanity!”

For me, it was the intro theme from Flipper.