The highly anticipated Airbus A400M military transport plane made its first flight Friday morning, leaving from the Seville Airport in Spain. The flight lasted about four hours, taking off around 10 am and landing at 2 pm, local time.
Representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey, that countries that placed the first 180-plus orders for the military transport plane, gathered to watch, then moved to a site near the airplane’s hangar to continue negotiations with Airbus on pricing, according to a Bloomberg report.
The Airbus A400M had a take-off weight of 127 tons and was equipped with 15 tons of first-flight test equipment. A team of engineers in Seville and Toulouse, France, monitored the flight’s success in real-time using state-of-the-art air-ground telemetry.
The flight crew tested the A400M military transport plane’s handling, evaluated the aircraft’s systems and checked the powerplant operation.
The Airbus A400M boasts four of the most powerful propeller engines ever fitted to a Western aircraft, the all-new European International TP400D turboprop powerplants, which produce 8,200 kilowatts of power each.
Airbus missed the original deadline for the first flight, effectively negating the original 2003 contract. Since then the governments of the intending-to-purchase countries have been trying to reach a new agreement. According to a Bloomberg report, the Airbus says it needs the governments to help shoulder the costs.
“We certainly hope that with thousands and thousands of employees all over Europe that we can continue this program, but we need to do that on a financially sound basis,” said Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders, in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “I am not confirming numbers. What I can say is in order to continue the program we need a significant contribution from government customers.”
The Airbus A400M is being assembled in Seville and is already reportedly running $3.4 billion over-budget.
It was designed as an aerial refueller and can offload fuel to both fighters and helicopters at their preferred speeds and heights. But, the Airbus A400M military transport plane is a true tactical aircraft.
It can land on soft, rough and short runways to deliver equipment and troops close to where they are needed.
To see video footage of the Airbus A400M’s maiden flight, “Airbus A400M Military Plane Debuts: Video.”
In other Airbus news, “Boeing, Airbus Split United Airlines’ 50 Fuel Efficient Plane Order.”
Written by Sharalyn Hartwell
HULIQ.com
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