Airbus A300-600ST Beluga
Beluga in current colours
Type	Outsize cargo freight aircraft
Manufacturer	EADS (Airbus S.A.S.)
Maiden flight	13 September 1994
Introduced	September 1995
Status	In service
Primary user	Airbus Transport International
Number built	5
Unit cost	N/A
Developed from	Airbus A300-600

The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter) or Beluga is a version of the standard Airbus A300 wide-body airliner, modified to carry aircraft parts and over-sized or awkward cargo. It was officially called the Super Transporter at first, but the name Beluga became popular and has now been adopted as official. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2146x894, 394 KB) Airbus A300-600ST Beluga in new colours, Hamburg 9/2005 Image taken by Xeper and released under GFDL Uploaded to de wiki by Xeper: September 23, 2005 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Freight aircraft, also called a freighter, are airliners converted for cargo hauling through the removal of passenger ammenities and the installation of a large cargo door. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... This article is about the airliner manufacturer. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... This article is about the airliner manufacturer. ... This article is about the airliner. ... This article is about the airliner. ... Wide-body Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300 A wide-body aircraft is a large airliner with a fuselage diameter of about 5 to 6 metres and twin aisles. ... An Airbus A340 airliner operated by Air Jamaica An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft with the primary function of transporting paying passengers. ...

History

Several major aircraft manufacturers are multinational, and it is not unusual for them to have plants in widely separated locations. Airbus, however, is unique in that it was a consortium formed by the major French, British, German, and Spanish aerospace companies, and the geographic location of Airbus manufacturing is not merely a matter of cost and convenience, it is also a matter of history, national interest and pride. In consequence, each of the Airbus partners makes an entire aircraft section, which needs to be transported to a central location for final assembly. The details vary from one model to another, but the general arrangement is for the wings to be made in Britain, the tail in Spain, the fuselage in Germany, and the nose and centre-section in France; all being united at either Toulouse or Hamburg. This is a list of aircraft manufacturers (in alphabetic order). ... This article is about the airliner manufacturer. ... New city flag (Occitan cross) Traditional coat of arms Motto: (Occitan: For Toulouse, always more) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Midi-Pyrénées Department Haute-Garonne (31) Intercommunality Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc  (UMP) (since 2004) City Statistics... Hamburg from above Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ...

Super Guppy F-BPPA

When Airbus started in 1970, the first few components were delivered by road, but growing production numbers soon necessitated a switch to air transport. From 1972 onwards a fleet of four highly modified "Super Guppys" took over. These were former Boeing Stratocruisers from the 1940s, converted with custom fuselages and turbine engines to carry large volume loads for the 1960s NASA space program, leading to the jibe that 'every Airbus is delivered on the wings of a Boeing'. As time went by, the Super Guppys became unsatisfactory: their age meant that operating expenses were high and growing higher, and increasing Airbus production rates needed greater capacity. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x530, 315 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Airbus Beluga Aero Spacelines Super Guppy ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x530, 315 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Airbus Beluga Aero Spacelines Super Guppy ... The Super Guppy is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components. ... The Super Guppy is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components. ... The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was airliner version of the 367 Boeing Stratofreighter, which in turn was the transport version of B-29 Superfortress. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States Government, responsible for that nations public space program. ...

Airbus Beluga in flight

In 1991 Aérospatiale and DASA, two of the major Airbus partners, formed a company to develop a replacement. The starting point was the design for the wide-body twin-engined Airbus A300: the wings, engines, landing gear, and the lower part of the fuselage are the same as the A300 while the upper part of the fuselage is an enormous horseshoe-shaped structure 7.7 metres in diameter. To provide access to the cargo area from the front without having to disconnect all electrical, hydraulic and flight control connections (not to mention the lengthy recalibrations before each flight the reconnection entailed), the standard A300 cockpit was moved down below the cargo floor level and a 17 metre high cargo door fitted. Finally, the tail structure was enlarged and strengthened to maintain directional stability. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2560x1029, 1001 KB) Image taken by Frank C. Müller and released under GFDL Uploaded to de wiki by Frank C. Müller: September 20, 2005 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2560x1029, 1001 KB) Image taken by Frank C. Müller and released under GFDL Uploaded to de wiki by Frank C. Müller: September 20, 2005 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on... The Aérospatiale Corvette first flew in 1970 and went into service in 1974. ... Luftwaffe Tornado ECR Deutsche Aerospace AG Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG Founded May 19, 1989 as Deutsche Aerospace AG, bundling space and aeronautic elements of Daimler-Benz (including Dornier Luftfahrt), Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), MTU München, and Telefunken Systemtechnik (TST) In 1992, the helicopter division was... This article is about the airliner. ...

Airbus Beluga in old colors with other planes in the background giving an idea of its massive scale

Construction began in September 1992, the first flight was in September 1994. After 335 hours of test flying, certification was awarded in September 1995 and the A300-600ST, now known as the Beluga, entered service. Four more Belugas were constructed, at a rate of roughly one a year, and all five remain in regular service. Their primary task is to carry Airbus components across Europe ready for final assembly in Toulouse or Hamburg, but they are available for charter work as well, and have been used to carry a variety of special loads, including space station components, large, very delicate artworks, industrial machinery, and entire helicopters. (The Beluga illustrated above had been chartered to carry two complete NHI NH90s and a Eurocopter Tiger from Europe to Australia and back). The A300-600ST's freight compartment is 7.4 metres in diameter and 37.7 metres long; maximum payload is 47 tons. At 153.9 tonnes its maximum take-off weight is comparable to a normal A300 showing that this plane was intended for large but relatively light cargo. Download high resolution version (942x351, 40 KB)A300-600ST full size my own photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (942x351, 40 KB)A300-600ST full size my own photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Binomial name Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776) Beluga range This article is about the whale. ... The NHI NH90 is a medium sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter manufactured by NHIndustries, a company established by Agusta, Eurocopter and Stork Fokker Aerospace. ... The Eurocopter Tiger is an attack helicopter manufactured by the Eurocopter Group. ...

Technical data

Airbus Beluga loading/unloading

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1176x489, 77 KB) Airbus Beluga loading an aircraft section Image taken by Dibe and released as PD Uploaded to de wiki by Dibe: September 8, 2004 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1176x489, 77 KB) Airbus Beluga loading an aircraft section Image taken by Dibe and released as PD Uploaded to de wiki by Dibe: September 8, 2004 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on...

External links

• Airbus Transport

Related content

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Airbus Beluga

Related development

• Airbus A300

Comparable aircraft

• Aero Spacelines Super Guppy
• 747 Large Cargo Freighter

  Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... This article is about the airliner. ... The Super Guppy is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components. ... Boeing 747 LCF (Large Cargo Freighter) Boeing 747 LCF at Boeing Field, September 16, 2006 Boeing 747 LCF at Boeing Field, September 16, 2006 The Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF), known as the Dreamlifter, is a modified Boeing 747-400 used exclusively for transporting aircraft parts to Boeing from...

See also