Airbus A300-600ST Beluga

Airbus SAS

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Airbus A300-600ST Beluga aircraft
Airbus SASAirbus A300-600ST Beluga
Photo: NASA · Public domain · Modified

About

An A300-600 with its flight deck dropped below a vast bubble of a cargo hold, built to fly Airbus wings and fuselage sections between the factories that make them. Five were built, and they gave the shape its name. No type certificate for it is reachable — the FAA's regulatory system is closed to us and EASA never held the type — so this entry carries its history but none of the certified weights the rest of the library is built on. Cruise speed, range, ceiling and climb rate are EUROCONTROL's figures for the A3ST type code rather than a certificate's: a type certificate states limits and weights, not cruise performance, and the source does not distinguish sub-variants. Thrust per engine is the certificated take-off rating of the CF6-80C2A8 from EASA TCDS IM.E.240: 257.374 kN (57,860 lbf), limited to five minutes.

Weightscompared to Airbus A380-800

MTOW (Maximum Takeoff Weight)

155,000kg
0
200k
400k
575k

Dimensions

Length

56.2m

Wingspan

44.8m

Height

17.2m

Engine Specifications

Engine Count

2×

Engine Model

General Electric CF6-80C2A8

Thrust per Engine

257.4 kN(57866 lbf)

Production & History

Total Produced

5

Production Status

Out of production

Manufacturing Period

1992–1999

First Flight

September 13, 1994

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