Airbus Beluga

Introduction:
The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter) or Beluga is a version of the standard A300-600 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 officially adopted.








Specifications:

Length-56.15 m (184 ft. 3 in)
Span-44.84 m (147 ft. 2 in)
Height-17.24 m (56 ft. 7 in)
Wing area-122.40 m² (1,317 ft²)
Fuselage diameter-3.95 m (13 ft)7.1 m (23 ft 4 in)in cargo compartment
Weight empty-86 t
Maximum take-off weight-155 t
Range (40 ton payload) -2,779 km (1500 nm)
Range (26 ton payload) -4,632 km (2500 nm)
Engines -GE CF6-80C2A8
Cargo capacity -47 t
Cargo volume -1,210 m³
Cockpit Crew-Two


Purpose:



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, the general arrangement is for the wings and landing gear to be made in the UK, the tail and doors in Spain, the fuselage in Germany, and the nose and center-section in France; all being assembled in either Toulouse, France or Hamburg, Germany.

Their primary task is to carry Airbus components ready for final assembly across Europe to Toulouse or Hamburg, but they are also available for charter work, and have been used to carry a variety of special loads, including space station components, large, very delicate artwork, industrial machinery, and entire helicopters.