Airbus BelugaXL takes to the sky for the first time

The first BelugaXL took to the skies in Toulouse, France at 10.30 local time for its maiden flight on Thursday 19 July. The crew in the cockpit consisted of captain Christophe Cail, co-pilot Bernardo Saez-Benito Hernandez and test-flight engineer Jean Michel Pin. Laurent Lapierre and Philippe Foucault monitored aircraft systems and performance from the flight […]

Airbus BelugaXL beams with joy as it leaves the paint shop

The first Airbus BelugaXL has rolled out of the paint shop sporting a special livery making it look like a Beluga Whale. The livery was one of six choices submitted to Airbus employees through a poll where 20,000 people participated, with 40 per cent voting for the smiling whale. The BelugaXL, the first of five, […]

First BelugaXL rolls off assembly line and gets ready for first flight

The first structurally complete airframe for the new BelugaXL has rolled out of the assembly hangar in Toulouse ready to start flying by mid-2018. It features a bulging upper forward fuselage and enormous cargo area, and once operational, a fleet of these next-generation airlifters will be used to transport completed sections of Airbus aircraft among […]