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Airbus A300-600 (Beluga)

1995 MODERN AIRCRAFT

History of the Airbus A300-600 (Beluga)

Several leading large aircraft manufacturers eventually developed a "super heavy transport aircraft" for transporting large aircraft components or machinery from point A to point B. Airbus did just that when it extensively modified the wide-body A300-600 fuselage to become the "Moby Dick" of Airbus International. The first flight took place on September 13, 1994, and it was officially unveiled in September 1995. About 5 units have been produced to date (January 2014) and all remain active participants in Airbus operations.

The aircraft can also be entrusted to a third party for special transport.

The original Airbus A300-600 existed as a wide-body airliner, first flew in October 1972, and was adopted by the first airline, Air France, in 1974. The 561 was produced from 1971 to 2007, after which the series was succeeded by the upcoming A330 and A340 product lines. The fuselage proved suitable for conversion into a "Beluga" heavy transport aircraft for intercontinental transport of oversized cargo across Europe to Airbus central sites for final assembly. Otherwise, these components would have to be transported by land (road or rail) or sea (ships) in precisely coordinated events, constrained by existing European infrastructure.

Aerial heavy lifts enable such transport efforts to circumvent the geographic and infrastructural constraints of the European landscape.

Initially, Airbus relied on the four-engine propeller-driven Boeing "Super Guppy" for the role, but this not only hurts Airbus' thriving name as it uses products from direct competitors to showcase its own Super guppy, production is becoming more and more limited. This led Deutsche Aerospace Airbus and Aerospatiale to form a consortium to manufacture "SATIC" ("Special Aircraft Transport International"), from which the A300-600 was selected for retrofit.

All major components of the A300-600 have remained the same, while the fuselage has been extensively restructured, with added spines and walls to increase the required internal volume. Access to the upper storage area is via a hinged clam-shaped opening above the cockpit.

This forced the use of a larger vertical stabilizer due to changes in airflow, and also added a small vertical stabilizer to the level of the stabilizer for more control. The forward fuselage has also undergone some cockpit modifications, with the nose section lowered to give the aircraft its distinctive "nose down" look. The aircraft follows the twin turbofan engine layout of the A300-600. An engine is installed in the underslung nacelle of each wing. The landing gear is fully retractable and consists of two four-wheel main legs and a two-wheel main landing gear.

Gear legs. The end result is a very ugly but capable heavy transport aircraft in the Airbus Moby Dick.

Overall, the Beluga shares around 80% with the A300-600 series in terms of parts. Broadly speaking, the cockpit is the same as that of a civilian airliner, it is worth noting that only the Beluga's cockpit is pressurized, not the cargo compartment.

Its internal volume allows the installation of an entire section of an A340 wing or the entire fuselage of an A350 family aircraft - the cargo capacity of the new aircraft.

The first Beluga unit was built as early as September 1992, and after a stage of evaluation, an airworthy prototype was finally ushered in. Following certification in October 1995, the aircraft was officially accepted as Airbus stock, allowing the company to ditch the use of US transport aircraft. When complete, the beluga will be 184 feet long, with a wingspan of 147 feet and a height of 56 feet 7 inches. Truck beds are over 24 feet in diameter. The fuselage has a maximum take-off weight of 155 tons and a declared empty weight of 86 tons.

It is powered by 2 GE CF6-80C2A8 turbofan engines and can achieve a range of up to 4,630 kilometers with a load of 25 tons. The cockpit crew is numbered as the standard two pilots, while the cargo handling crew (managed by a dedicated loading supervisor) requires a minimum of two.

Beluga Line provides services beyond what Airbus manufactures, as it serves the European on-demand space programme and other third-party-initiated transportation roles. Airbus is currently considering an upgrade to the "Beluga XL" aimed at increasing transport capacity and range.

Boeing uses an aircraft of similar form and function with the "Dreamlifter" based on the Boeing 747-400 model. No prettier than Moby Dick, the Dreamlifter takes on a very recognizable form of its own. Boeing has built four examples of this type with existing 747 airframes. The introduction is 2007.