Sometimes people look at certain planes and ask themselves: how exactly does an aircraft of that size ever make it off the ground? Well, most people would agree that after taking one look at the Airbus Beluga they wonder why manufacturers ever designed such a plane that looks like the Astro-Van of the sky. The Airbus A300-600 ST, or otherwise known as the Beluga, has a sole purpose of transporting oversized cargo. Its main deck is larger than military transports such as the C5 Galaxy, Antonov An-124, and the C17.
Airbus only made five Belugas but they are all currently in use operating for Airbus Transport International. The cargo deck, located above the cockpit instead of the traditional lower designs, prevents manufacturers from having to break down large parts of equipment and allows quick and easy transport. The cargo hold also has temperature control for sensitive payload and is large enough to carry most helicopters. The cockpit is designed for a two person crew and has the most up to date glass instrument panel system. However, the Beluga also has a very prominent flaw, which is its performance and maximum distance it can fly without having to refuel. That is why the A300 is mainly used in Europe, while most other cargo aircraft are able to fly oversees without a fuel stop.
2 comments:
I'm not really interested in planes, but your picture really caught my attention. I had no idea that there were planes like this that were strictly for cargo. I was wondering how long the plane can fly until it runs out of gas.
Beluga is a cool name for this plane, it does really look like the whale
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