I saw this plane once in person, no picture will ever do it justice. That something that size can fly at all without being a dirigible is absolutely amazing.
I saw it a couple of times from the mountains near Toulouse, and this was my impression as well. It is fascinating to watch; it does not look like it should be able to fly, with its oversized belly and (relatively) tiny wings. It really looks more like a zeppelin than an aircraft.
Yes, I noticed that as well. I assume that this was because it was so big and I was seeing it from quite a long way away (it was in the mountains, and the atmosphere was very clear). Though I have no idea how fast it actually is.
That you can fit something inside a plane doesn't mean the plane will be able to lift off the ground.
Beluga is meant to carry oversize cargo, but not overweight cargo -- it's based on an Airbus A300 with a roughly 100k lb cargo capacity, but with a huge fuselage. Same wings, and worse aerodynamics.
Its primary use is to transport airplane components between Airbus facilities, as Airbus has manufacturing facilities producing various components (wings, fuselages, etc.) across multiple countries. These things are not easy to move on roads.
And that is why I always roll my eyes when a journalist uses the weight of a jet airplane to "translate" the weight of some heavy object. Airplanes are surprisingly light compared to their size. One cannot pick up an airplane[1] just like that so most doesn't realise this.
Living near Hamburg, Germany and working in the city (pre Covid) I saw it quite often when it approached for landing at the Airbus facility.
Compared to all other air traffic going to the regular airport it definitely looks quite interesting, when in flight. I actually enjoy seeing it as something of engineering ingenuity.
When my SO and me bought our house the seller was working at Airbus and told me that he found it pleasant to fly in as a passenger when he needed to visit the French facility for work.
I saw it one afternoon coming in to land at Hamburg, and I initially thought I'd had one too many Astra beers. It's definitely unique looking, but the roll rate and noise don't appear too unusual.
I am not absolutely sure if he flew to the French site with the Beluga or if this were different situations I mixed up. He told both. Him flying to France and him finding the Beluga experience pleasant.
Does anyone know what kind of payloads this plane is used for? Something relatively light but requiring a large volume?
As there are only 5 of those built, there doesn’t seem to be a big demand for these, and the payload capacity is the same as the standard body version.
Thanks so much for the tip. I looked at it but it's all folded on the mobile view and I totally missed it. However, the beluga xl article holds no information regarding this that I can see.
Other than other vehicles and containers, this is pretty cool:
> In 1999, a Beluga carried a large painting, Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix,[20] which had hung in the Louvre in Paris since 1874
> I'm curious if Airbus ever lease them out to others for transporting big things other than wings.
There are multiple airlines specialising in that business, like Antonov Airlines, who use huge An-225(largest plane in the world by most metrics) and An-124(second or third largest by most metrics) for outsized cargo.
Planes are weird. Sometimes I look at like 747 or a monster like the beluga, and think - how the fuck does something that big and heavy even move on the ground, and then fly across the ocean?
A plane transporting another plane inside is almost too much process.
I got to see NASA's Super Guppy land and unload a T-38 (I think) at Ellington Field 15 years ago while prepping for a flight on the Vomit Comet. It's pretty absurd to see a plane come out of a plane.
One of my favorite weird plane. I saw it multiple times at the ILA in Berlin. Last time it was positioned between an A380 and the AN-225 (if I was not mistaken).
I live near the Airbus factory in Broughton, Wales (near Chester) and you used to see the previous generation Beluga flying over once or twice a day as they picked up new wings.
I still occasionally get to see the new XL variant coming in to land and they are absolutely gigantic, especially as they pass by roughly a mile or so from my house.
Such a weird and wonderful sight, I get excited every single time.
I love a few miles from the Hawarden airport and see these things fly over ever couple of days.
I love to watch them slowly fly over, they are beautiful and ugly at the same time
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 124 ms ] threadThe A380 on final has that quality too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya
Still, it made the whole thing surreal.
Beluga is meant to carry oversize cargo, but not overweight cargo -- it's based on an Airbus A300 with a roughly 100k lb cargo capacity, but with a huge fuselage. Same wings, and worse aerodynamics.
Max weight and max size are upper limits, reach one and the other no longer matters.
1: Notable exception :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9x1TRbeC_0
Compared to all other air traffic going to the regular airport it definitely looks quite interesting, when in flight. I actually enjoy seeing it as something of engineering ingenuity.
When my SO and me bought our house the seller was working at Airbus and told me that he found it pleasant to fly in as a passenger when he needed to visit the French facility for work.
He must have worked there a long time, Airbus haven’t done that for decades.
So maybe it was me mixing things up.
As there are only 5 of those built, there doesn’t seem to be a big demand for these, and the payload capacity is the same as the standard body version.
I'm curious if Airbus ever lease them out to others for transporting big things other than wings.
Other than other vehicles and containers, this is pretty cool:
> In 1999, a Beluga carried a large painting, Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix,[20] which had hung in the Louvre in Paris since 1874
There are multiple airlines specialising in that business, like Antonov Airlines, who use huge An-225(largest plane in the world by most metrics) and An-124(second or third largest by most metrics) for outsized cargo.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Beluga_XL%22_A3...
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N941NA
https://simpleflying.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1280px-F...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Airbus_b...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/F-GSTD_B...
What if the plane inside also had a small plane? It would be a plane inside a plane inside a plane.
Not quite as bulbous, though.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy
A plane transporting another plane inside is almost too much process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AySkO26_PR4
It actually can't lift the huge load. The Boeing dreamlifeter is better at it
I still occasionally get to see the new XL variant coming in to land and they are absolutely gigantic, especially as they pass by roughly a mile or so from my house.
Such a weird and wonderful sight, I get excited every single time.