AIRBUS CELEBRATED the 20th anniversary of the maiden flight of the A300-600ST Super Transporter on September 13. The aircraft completed 335 hours of test flying over 13 months to receive its restricted type certification and was delivered into service on October 25, 1995. A further four Super Transporters were constructed, at a rate of roughly one per year. The aircraft’s unique appearance, reminiscent of a Beluga whale, led the manufacturer to adopt the name officially for the type (see Airliner World, October 2013). Today, the Beluga fleet is operated by Airbus Transport International and performs more than 60 rotations every week between the company’s 11 European sites, flying crucial parts to final assembly lines in Toulouse and Hamburg. The Beluga’s duties will substantially increase over the next five years with production of the A350 XWB increasing and a ramp-up on other programmes. Airbus is predicting a doubling of the fleet’s activities by 2017 – from 5,000 to 10,000 flight hours.
(Photo Airbus)
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November 2014
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