Airbus' fourth 'whale of the sky' takes off on maiden flight

Airbus saw its fourth 'whale of the sky' take-off today.

The BelugaXL 4 performed its maiden test flight in Toulouse as it starts its certification process.

In the future it will be flying into Broughton as the aerospace giant builds up its fleet of the new generation of transporters to six.

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They will play a part in the ramping up of production over the coming years.

An Airbus spokesman said: "Today, the fourth BelugaXL took off to the skies for the first time and performed its maiden test flight in Toulouse.

"Airbus is progressively introducing a fleet of six BelugaXLs, operated by ATI, contributing to the transformation of the industrial system and the ability to increase production in the future."

They added there was "no date set yet for XL4's first visit to Broughton".

The decision to build the BelugaXL was taken in November 2014 to address the transport and ramp-up capacity requirements for Airbus.

They are based on the A330-200 Freighter, with a large re-use of existing components and equipments.

The BelugaXL has its enlarged fuselage “bubble” section that is six metres longer and one metre wider than on the BelugaST.

They will gradually replace the ST series in the coming years.