Third Beluga XL touches down at Hawarden for first time

Update: Beluga XL 3 landed at 12.38, strong winds hampered initial landing.

Not quite landed yet, some low approaches in the plan but seems to be doing some showboating over Flintshire. https://t.co/khLKnSvvmn pic.twitter.com/NiiZBP5IDx

— DEESIDE.com (@DeesideDotCom) October 26, 2020

First report: The latest Airbus BelugaXL to be built has landed at Hawarden airfield this afternoon marking the transporters ‘entry into service’ flight.

Beluga XL three is scheduled to land just 12pm having taken off from Toulouse at 9.43am.

Airbus is building six of the XL transporters which will eventually replace the now 20-year-old Beluga ST fleet.

@FlintshireSkies @ShitChester @AirbusintheUK XL3 on arrival today to Hawarden pic.twitter.com/TIvxJRS72b

— Matthew Jones (@mattjimages) October 26, 2020

At 63 metres long and 8 metres wide, the BelugaXL has the largest cargo bay cross-section  of all existing cargo aircraft worldwide. The BelugaXL can carry two A350 XWB wings compared to the BelugaST, which can only carry one.

With a maximum payload of 51 tonnes,  the BelugaXL has a range of 4,000km (2200nm).

The BelugaXL is based on an A330-200 Freighter, enabling the re-use of existing components and equipment and is powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines. The lowered cockpit, the cargo bay structure and the rear-end and tail were newly developed jointly with partners, giving the aircraft its distinctive look.

XL first made its debut in Deeside on Valentine’s day last year.

[Photos courtesy of Airbus UK]