zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
The Final Airbus Beluga XL Is Ready For Takeoff
The Final Airbus Beluga XL Is Ready For Takeoff-April 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:48

A photo of an Airbus Beluga plane flying.

It’s a tough time to be an enormous aircraft these days, just ask at the end of 2022. Now, after killing off its own , Airbus has brought production of its bonkers looking Beluga cargo plane to an end this week.

Airbus ending production of the Beluga XL is a little different as it only planned to build six of the aircraft, while long before Airbus could reach the lofty delivery targets it dreamed of. But it’s still a landmark moment for big planes everywhere.

, the final BelugaXL rolled off the production line in Toulouse, France, earlier this week. The plane is the sixth model to be finished, with each solely created to transport cargo around the world.

A photo of an Airbus Beluga plane on a runway.

To set apart from the five others built, those fun-loving Europeans have given Beluga number 6 an updated look. It still features the signature Airbus tailfin, but Airbus has given the behemoth a big cheeky grin up front and a winking eye graphic on one side. Cute.

With its gleaming paintwork finished, the sixth Beluga freighter will take to the skies for its first flight in the coming days and, Simply Flying reports, will enter service for Airbus later this year. As with in the fleet, the final plane will be used across the plane maker’s production facilities, where it will transport large components between its sites in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK.

, the Beluga XL is one of the largest cargo planes in the world. It was first unveiled back in November 2014 and the first aircraft took to the skies in July 2018.

A photo of a Beluga aircraft with its cargo door open.

Each of the six planes comprises a fuselage that’s more than 200 feet long and 29 feet wide. The cabin is almost 25 feet wide and the large cargo door at the front of the Beluga XL means it is capable of carrying some pretty hefty cargo, such as plane wings and fuselage sections. In total, the plane’s cargo hold measures an impressive 7,247 cubic ft.

To transport all that stuff around the world, the Beluga XL is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, which help give the plane a range of almost 2,500 miles.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Apr 18, 2025
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Apr 18, 2025
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Apr 18, 2025
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Apr 18, 2025
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Apr 18, 2025
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Apr 18, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved