"Beluga" - a new generation aircraft

"Beluga" is an aircraft related to turbojet wide-body cargo vehicles. "Airbus Beluga" was developed specifically for the transport of not only heavy but also bulk cargo. The idea of creating such a vehicle as a Beluga airplane belongs to the consortium Airbus. In connection with the conclusion of the contract, the company needed a technique that would allow the delivery of parts of the cabins for the Airbus A-310 to Toulouse from Hamburg.

A bit of history

First time, even at the beginning of the activity, this company used another transport aircraft, namely - "Super Guppy" (Supper Guppy), which at that time was quite sufficient. But the transported parts of the aircrafts being created increased, for their transportation other spaces were required. The Beluga (see photo in the article), also known as the Beluga, was developed on the basis of the predecessor Airbus A300. He even inherited his name, though with a small addition - 600ST.

Main settings

"Beluga" is a plane, the body of which looks like a handsome whale with a consonant name ("belukha", do not confuse it with commercial fish). In a sufficiently voluminous transport compartment (approximately 1400 m³), cargoes up to 47 t and up to 40 m long can be transported.

The flight range with maximum permissible loads can reach 1,700 km, at half (up to 26 tons) can reach 4600 km, practical range - 5200 km. Unlike the "Super Guppy", this machine boasts a high speed, which is twice as high. The crew consists of two people.

"Beluga" is a plane developed for the company Airbus (and it also belongs to). There are only five such devices, they work for their company, but they can be rented if necessary for special transportation.

Interesting details

The new plane was decided to do without "buckles". The double-leaf cargo door runs almost from the floor (to the level), but the cockpit and the entire bow are lowered. The loading system is semi-automatic, more convenient. In addition to the main cabin in the "Beluga" there is another (cargo) compartment - it can be installed aviation containers that are within the standard. Of course, the new car is strikingly different from its progenitor, although about 80% are parts of the passenger airbus. In addition to reworking the fuselage, wings and tail fins were modified, and additional washers on the stabilizer improved the stability of the track.

The cabin itself is identical to the cockpit of the A-300-600. In the bow section there is everything necessary for the crew: a kitchen, a toilet, additional armchairs.

The Beluga engine with a takeoff power of 262kN decided to borrow from CF6-80C-2 from General Electric. Of course, there were other options, but this one proved to be the best. This engine is installed in most of the A-310 and A-300 airbuses and managed to "fly" about 20,000,000 hours. In addition, it is easy to maintain. By the way, the same engine is also on 700 new generation aircraft. The fact is that the failure rate here is only 0.008%. No other engine has such high reliability. However, this is not all. In aircraft with the failure of one engine, the second allows you to extend the flight for another hour. "Beluga" - the plane that broke the record here: the time of emergency flight - 180 minutes!

The assembly of the first specimen was started in Toulouse on January 11, 1993, and on September 13 of the following year he solemnly ascended into the air.

Undoubtedly, this unique machine in every sense has the right to be on the list with the eloquent title "the best planes in the world".