Airbus Beluga Xl, the Large Aircraft Model for a New Breed of Super-Transporters, Looks like a Whale
This new large aircraft model is already making waves, despite just scheduled to enter into service next year, 2019. And guess what? It’s not just because it’s a super-transporter, it’s also because it looks like a real whale!
PHOTO | Wikipedia Airbus Beluga XL on its maiden flight last July 19, 2018
The Airbus Beluga XL (or Airbus A330–743L) is a large transport aircraft that is the successor to the Airbus Beluga. The XL has an extension on the fuselage top like the Beluga. It is being designed, built and will be operated by Airbus to move different oversized aircraft components.
It was recorded that in 2013, the five original Belugas (Antonov An-124 and An-225, Boeing C-17 or Dreamlifter, and A400M) could not cope with production growth and so Airbus evaluated all to modify one of its own. Because of that, they launched a program in November 2014 to build five aircrafts to replace the existing give belugas, but the design freeze was announced on September 16, 2015.
Large aircraft models of the future
Since there are already existing Belugas, some think that the new super-transporters will phase out the old models completely. But it’s not the case. When the Beluga XL gets officially introduced next year, the existing Belugas will not be withdrawn from service, and will still be used to operate for at least five years and move more aircraft parts.
The current Beluga fleet flew more than 8000 hours in 2017 (a double from 2014), and since it is only at its half-life, another operator could perhaps use them for civil or military logistic applications.
To this day, there is only one Beluga XL, F-WBXL, and it’s the very aircraft which took its maiden flight last July 2018. A second aircraft is currently in production.
The general characteristics of this large aircraft model are very impressive. It has a 53,000 kg payload capacity, has a height and length of 18.9 m and 63.1 m respectively, with a wingspan of 60.3 m (197 ft 10 in), and a wing area of Wing area: 361.6 m2 (3,892 sq ft). As for the maximum takeoff weight, it is 227,000 kg (lighter than a Boeing 747–400ERF), and its cargo hold is 2,615 m3 (92,300 cu ft) volume.
Designed for big things
The Airbus Beluga XL is designed to have 30% more capacity than the existing Beluga. To compare it better, the large aircraft model (once finished) will be able to carry two A350 XWB wings instead of one. Its new fuselage is also 1.7 m wider than the existing models, and will be able to lift a payload which is 6 tons heavier. It is said that the aft section was based on the A330–300 while it leaned more on the A330–200 for the forward design for center of gravity reasons.
The main freight door of the Beluga XL is produced by Stelia Aerospace, and it has 24 latches. The nose was specially designed to have the cockpit, while a four-seat courier section is supplied by Airbus. The upgraded vertical stabiliser continues to surprise many because it’s 50% larger — with the auxiliary fins on the horizontal stabiliser and two ventral fins beneath the empennage.
While there is a previous Beluga airplane model, this new XL model is said to be the real “whales in the sky.” It looks like an actual Beluga (a smiling one) with eyes painted on the side. It is surely designed for many big things because with the general specification of taking six tons of extra cargo, it can increase the limit to 53 tons. The reason why it’s wider than its predecessor is because they wanted to be more efficient with moving large airplane parts. The cockpit is also placed lower than usual for a good reason. It will avoid the need to disconnect any one of the electrical, hydraulic, and flight control systems every time cargo is loaded and unloaded.
The good thing about the Airbus Beluga XL, was that it involved the Airbus employees with the design decision. Airbus took the time to ask its employees to select how the A330 Family-based BelugaXL should appear to the world. And what do you know? A smile was voted!
According to Tim Orr, Airbus’ Head of Branding, “[there were] six designs proposed for consideration by employees respected our brand identity while running from the conventional to the unconventional, even adding a touch of fun.” The smiling Airbus Beluga XL entry got more than 40% of the employees’ vote. Who wouldn’t say yes to the beluga whale-inspired eyes, and the happy grin, right?
Besides, the happy face (aside from the distinctly-shaped airframe) will surely develop the Beluga’s identity to the whole world. It will be plenty recognizable as it is.