The Flying Forehead

at

Scenes from last Thursday’s maiden flight of Airbus’s new jumbo freighter – the Beluga XL – a jumbo freighter designed to ferry large sections of Airbus planes (up to 125 tonnes) to and from the company’s assembly plants in France and Germany.

The Beluga XL (the first of five such planes but not the first Airbus sky whale) now faces ten months of testing before going into commission.

designboom

Sponsored Link

16 thoughts on “The Flying Forehead

  1. Amorphous Kerry Blob

    I’m wondering what would have the bigger carbon footprint:
    That yoke,
    or 2 smaller planes, each half the size of that yoke.

    1. Mattress Pat

      That yoke.

      It’s designed to carry two A350 wings instead of the one that the current Beluga carries.

  2. Liam Deliverance

    Brilliant, if I was the president of the world I’d have much more anthropomorphic vehicles

  3. Deimos

    We live right under the beluga flight path, when it passes over us its at about 1000 feet and dropping fast.
    It’s bloody awesome!
    I can’t wait for the even bigger one, a great example of human ingenuity that looks awesome.

    1. Amorphous Kerry Blob

      Human civilisation won’t survive the current century with that kind of positive attitude.

  4. Jonsmoke

    what not just make all the plane parts in one place and then you won’t need to build/operate this huge plane?

    1. Cian

      Historically it was set up as a pan-European company to rival Boeing and other US companies. They had to employee people in difference countries – and share the prestige equally – so country 1 can’t make nuts and bolts if country 2 is making wings and engines.

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie