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Airbus BELUGA - For the first time in Brazil
Viracopos Airport
Campinas, SP (VCP / SBKP)
Brazil, July 25, 2022.
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AIRBUS BELUGA - For the First Time in Brazil ​
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The city of Fortaleza (in the state of Ceara)
and the city of Campinas (in the state of Sao Paulo)
received the huge Beluga plane
that consecrated on its first flight to Brazil and Latin America.
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The marine animal-like aircraft started its journey to Brazil through the city of Toulouse, France and was part of a mission to transport the first ACH160 executive helicopter to a Brazilian operator and the first ACH160 delivered in the world. The helicopter has advanced technology and was delivered in Campinas and assembled at the MRO facilities of Azul Linhas Aéreas, located at Viracopos airport.
Before arriving in Brazil, the Beluga made a technical stopover (landing only for refueling and to rest the crew) in the city of Dakar in Senegal. Unforeseen weather conditions in aviation are very common and especially when it comes to air cargo, planes rarely take off on time. In the case of the Beluga, one day after landing in Senegal, the aircraft suffered a huge delay due to a storm that occurred in the region hours before the scheduled takeoff resulting in further delays and schedule changes in Brazil.
With the delay and schedule changes, the Airbus Beluga ST plane (ST for 'Super-Transporter'), registration F-GSTB (Beluga number #2) landed for the first time in Fortaleza, Brazil, at 15:24 (local time) on July 24, 2022.
On Monday, July 25, 2022, Beluga had an early takeoff at 10:21 am (local time) from Fortaleza with landing around 1:30 pm (local time) in Campinas, at Viracopos Airport.
In January of this year, Airbus launched a new service to offer special cargo transportation to customers around the world with the Beluga ST. These cargo planes, based on the A300-600 project, have expanded their scope beyond intra-Airbus transfers to worldwide flight missions carrying oversized cargo.
With the new service, up to five Beluga STs will be able to fly unusual-sized payloads for commercial contract customers, serving industries such as engine manufacturers, space, helicopter and machine manufacturing, oil, gas and power, land vehicles and other military equipment, humanitarian supplies, among others.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Airbus has sold more than 1,100 aircraft and has a backlog of more than 500, with more than 700 in operation across the region, representing nearly 60 percent of the in-service fleet market share. Since 1994, Airbus has secured approximately 70 percent of net orders in the region.
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Air Cargo on Board the Beluga
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The aircraft carried on board was a cargo valued at an average of US$ 16 million. It is an ACH160 helicopter (pictured below) that received the Brazilian registration PS-AXM, it is the newest version of the H160, a version configured with a luxurious interior offering the passenger better lighting, larger windows, in addition to volume. of space and comfort compared to previous generations of helicopters in the category. The prototype received certification by EASA on July 1, 2020.
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The first ACH160 delivered in the world and the first Brazilian customer with Brazilian
registration PS-AXM flying over the Marginal Tietê region in São Paulo, Brazil.
Photo © Airbus Helicopters / Helibras - Disclosure.
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“We are very proud that the world's first ACH160 has been delivered here in Brazil, and look forward to seeing its distinctive and elegant silhouette flying through the skies of São Paulo, stated Jean-Luc Alfonsi, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters’ Brazilian customer centre, Helibras. “Helibras is the leader in the Brazilian turbine helicopter executive aviation segment and we are confident the ACH160 will set new standards for customers and operators wanting to make a distinctive choice in terms of safety, comfort and performance”.
According to data from the Brazilian General Aviation Association (ABAG), more than 2,500 airports and 1,300 heliports in Brazil use corporate aviation services via jets, turboprops, piston aircraft and helicopters. “The growing general aviation market in Brazil is crucial for increasing economic and social productivity, as well for maintaining the country's air connectivity,” emphasises Alfonsi.
The ACH160 is the latest member of the ACH family and the most technologically advanced helicopter in its class. It provides 20% greater volume per passenger compared to previous generation medium twin helicopters, 35% larger windows than its competitors, resulting in the brightest cabin in its category and 15% lower fuel burn than its nearest competitor.
The ACH160 family is designed in three versions - Line, Line with Lounge package, and Exclusive – to meet the different needs of this demanding market, with different levels of customization and unrivalled sophistication to better fit the lifestyle of each customer. The ACH160’s design, laying claim to sixty-eight new patents, sounds the clarion call for innovation outperforming expectations. This rotorcraft comes with enhanced safety features and sets a new standard for passenger comfort. Innovations include the canted Fenestron for greater useful load and a flat attitude in flight, and sound-reducing Blue Edge rotor blades for quieter operations.
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The Beluga in Summary
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The Belula had its initial development in August 1991 based on the Airbus A300, capable of transporting fuselage sections of other planes and large loads for the manufacturer Airbus located in Germany, France, United Kingdom and Spain. However, since its maximum load capacity is only 47 tons, it takes loads that are large in volume, not so much in weight.
Just three years later, in 1994, the first prototype rolled out in Toulouse. The first flight took place on September 13, 1994 and started the approval process, received in mid-1995 after 400 test flights. The first unit, the old prototype, went into operation at Airbus in January 1996. Delivery of the fourth unit took place in June 1998.
The Beluga has the same wing, engines, lower fuselage, main landing gear and cockpit as the A300. The main change is the huge fuselage, equipped with a clamshell door at the front, which forced a repositioning of the cockpit. The tail was also modified, with the use of small vertical stabilizers installed on the horizontal ones. However, the original vertical stabilizer was retained. The rudder was only on the main vertical stabilizer.
The Beluga fleet is controlled and managed by SATIC, a company formed in partnership between Aérospatiale and DASA. In addition to transporting parts for Airbus, SATIC also offers the plane's large volumetric capacity (1400m³) for the transport of bulky loads, which ended up justifying the introduction into service of a fifth aircraft, incorporated into the fleet in 2000.
A total of 5 Airbus A300-600ST Beluga were built, which are already considered as old versions. Currently, Airbus has launched the newest version of the Beluga, called the XL version, based on the A330 with new technologies, innovation and fuel efficiency. These Belugas XL are already in operation which will replace the Belugas ST in the coming years.
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* DISCLAMER:
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The aviation news website MAIS QUE VOAR (MORE THAN FLY) does not agree with Fakenews.
This publication contains content with sources from Airbus press.
This publication was written in Portuguese (Brazil) and automatically translated by Google robots to English. MORE THAN FLY, adopted Google technology for everyone around the world to have access to information and optimize our time and budget with translations. We ask for common sense to take into account translation errors. After all, every robot is limited and is never compared to the superiority of a human intelligence.
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