What did I see?

[Odhran]

Spied this yesterday while at Chester Zoo. Think I could make out Airbus written on the side of it. Thought it was an A380 at first, but I don't think so the more I think about it. Blurry pic below.

[quavey]

That would be a "Beluga" Used for moving bits of Airbus around, including bits of the A380!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Beluga

[dr_gn]

---

ETA sorry, simultaneous post saying the same thing...

[yellowjack]

Takes the wings, made in UK, to Europe, to be joined to the rest of the aircraft in the assembly hall. The job used to be done by a turboprop powered cargo shifter, Guppy, or Super Guppy, I think.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super... Found it! There's one at Bruntingthorpe, apparently.

[dr_gn]

yellowjack said:

Takes the wings, made in UK, to Europe, to be joined to the rest of the aircraft in the assembly hall. The job used to be done by a turboprop powered cargo shifter, Guppy, or Super Guppy, I think.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super... Found it! There's one at Bruntingthorpe, apparently.

"Every Airbus delivered on the wings of a Boeing"

[The Moose]

Not exactly a thing of beauty is it!!

[The Boy Lard]

It's an A300-600ST called Beluga....

[The Boy Lard]

I thought I might have a picture. Here you go, taken in Northern France somewhere.

[Eric Mc]

Looking a bit blank.

Is that a new one or a retired one?

[yellowjack]

Unless they've built any more recently, the one the OP snapped is one of 5 built.

I over-simplified it earlier when I said it took wings from UK to Toulouse - it's job is to bring all of the component structures from the manufacturing plants around Europe to Toulouse, where final assembly takes place.

Here's another picture lifted from t'internet...



...of A330 wings being loaded.

I had some decent photos of the one that was at Farnborough Air Show several years ago, but I'll be damned if I can find any trace of them at the moment

[MitchT]

I've often noticed these on FlightRadar flying in/out of Hawarden airport near Chester.

[mattdaniels]

dr_gn said:

yellowjack said:

Takes the wings, made in UK, to Europe, to be joined to the rest of the aircraft in the assembly hall. The job used to be done by a turboprop powered cargo shifter, Guppy, or Super Guppy, I think.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super... Found it! There's one at Bruntingthorpe, apparently.

"Every Airbus delivered on the wings of a Boeing"

The Boeing Superguppy has never been used to transport A380 parts. Why would they use it when they have their own equivalent aircraft to do the job?

[dr_gn]

mattdaniels said:

dr_gn said:

yellowjack said:

Takes the wings, made in UK, to Europe, to be joined to the rest of the aircraft in the assembly hall. The job used to be done by a turboprop powered cargo shifter, Guppy, or Super Guppy, I think.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super... Found it! There's one at Bruntingthorpe, apparently.

"Every Airbus delivered on the wings of a Boeing"

The Boeing Superguppy has never been used to transport A380 parts. Why would they use it when they have their own equivalent aircraft to do the job?

I never said it did transport A380 parts.

"When Airbus started in 1970, the first few components were delivered by road, but growing production soon necessitated a switch to air transport. From 1972 onwards, a fleet of four highly modified "Super Guppies" 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 jest that "every Airbus is delivered on the wings of a Boeing". As time went by, the Super Guppies grew increasingly unsatisfactory for Airbus's ferrying needs: their age meant that operating expenses were high and ever-increasing, and growing Airbus production required greater capacity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Beluga

Edited by dr_gn on Tuesday 14th May 20:39

[mattdaniels]

dr_gn said:

mattdaniels said:

dr_gn said:

yellowjack said:

Takes the wings, made in UK, to Europe, to be joined to the rest of the aircraft in the assembly hall. The job used to be done by a turboprop powered cargo shifter, Guppy, or Super Guppy, I think.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super... Found it! There's one at Bruntingthorpe, apparently.

"Every Airbus delivered on the wings of a Boeing"

The Boeing Superguppy has never been used to transport A380 parts. Why would they use it when they have their own equivalent aircraft to do the job?

I never said it did transport A380 parts.

"When Airbus started in 1970, the first few components were delivered by road, but growing production soon necessitated a switch to air transport. From 1972 onwards, a fleet of four highly modified "Super Guppies" 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 jest that "every Airbus is delivered on the wings of a Boeing". As time went by, the Super Guppies grew increasingly unsatisfactory for Airbus's ferrying needs: their age meant that operating expenses were high and ever-increasing, and growing Airbus production required greater capacity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Beluga

Edited by dr_gn on Tuesday 14th May 20:39

I was really replying to Yellowjack's "the job used to be done by..." - but probably misunderstanding what he meant. "The job" (transporting A380 wings - answer to the OP) never used to be done by a Superguppy. Airbus certainly did use the Boeing back in the 70s when they started out and hadn't built the Beluga.

[wobert]

MitchT said:

I've often noticed these on FlightRadar flying in/out of Hawarden airport near Chester.

Most days at least one or two.

I'm under the flight path directly to the SW of Hawarden so get a great view of the Beluga on a steep climb up and out.....

[onyx39]

immense aeroplane!

There was one on display at the Farnborough Air Show a few years back.

[Zad]

While browsing the "new" Flickr to see how bad it is, I came across an old screen grab that I made when it flew over here. I guess it goes past here quite regularly, I just hadn't noticed it!

[Lord_Howit_Hertz]

OP, I too spotted one of these last Thursday over the chester area. I was playing golf in Frodsham in the evening and it was a perfectly clear evening, then spotted this thing in the sky, wondered what it was, now I know!!! cheers all!!

[tom_loughlin]

yellowjack said:

Unless they've built any more recently, the one the OP snapped is one of 5 built.

I over-simplified it earlier when I said it took wings from UK to Toulouse - it's job is to bring all of the component structures from the manufacturing plants around Europe to Toulouse, where final assembly takes place.

Here's another picture lifted from t'internet...



...of A330 wings being loaded.

I had some decent photos of the one that was at Farnborough Air Show several years ago, but I'll be damned if I can find any trace of them at the moment

Are these the wings? Look too small for A380 wings to me. Possibly the tailplanes?

[wobert]

tom_loughlin said:

yellowjack said:

Unless they've built any more recently, the one the OP snapped is one of 5 built.

I over-simplified it earlier when I said it took wings from UK to Toulouse - it's job is to bring all of the component structures from the manufacturing plants around Europe to Toulouse, where final assembly takes place.

Here's another picture lifted from t'internet...



...of A330 wings being loaded.

I had some decent photos of the one that was at Farnborough Air Show several years ago, but I'll be damned if I can find any trace of them at the moment

Are these the wings? Look too small for A380 wings to me. Possibly the tailplanes?

380 wings go down the River Dee by barge to Mostyn docks. They are then transferred onto a ship to head to France.

The wings are too large for the Beluga.