A giant air transporter powered by engines made by Derby’s Rolls-Royce has been cleared to enter into service.
Nicknamed ‘the whale in the sky’, the Airbus BelugaXL has received its Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), paving the way for entry into service by early 2020.
The aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce’s Trent 700 engines - designed, developed and assembled at the firm’s civil aerospace division at Sinfin.
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Based on an Airbus A330-200 airliner, the BelugaXL is the successor to the Airbus Beluga.
The plane has been designed to move over-sized aircraft components and has an extra 30% capacity on the current Beluga planes that it will replace.
It is longer and wider than the current Beluga, which means it can carry two A350 XWB plane wings instead of one.
Weighing 125 tonnes, the hold of the BelugaXL is capable of carrying up to 51 tonnes for a distance of more than 2,200 miles.
The oversized transporter will be used for carrying complete sections of Airbus aircraft from different production sites around Europe to the final assembly lines in Toulouse and Hamburg, in Germany.
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The BelugaXL received its stamp of approval following an intensive flight test campaign that saw it complete more than 200 flight tests, clocking over 700 flight hours.
In total, six aircraft will be built between 2019 and 2023, gradually replacing the current fleet of Beluga transporters.
In a statement, Airbus said: “The BelugaXL is an integral part of Airbus’ industrial system and a key enabler for production ramp-up requirements beyond 2019.
“While air transport remains the primary method for transporting large aircraft components, Airbus also uses road, rail and sea transport to move parts between its production sites.
“Like the standard Beluga, the aircraft will operate from 11 destinations in Europe, continuing to strengthen the industrial capabilities and enabling Airbus to deliver on its commitments.”
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The BelugaXL completed its maiden flight in July last year. Sporting a distinctive whale-themed livery, the aircraft took off from the European base of Airbus, in Toulouse, France, and successfully completed a four-hour round trip.
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The Trent 700 engine was the first member of the Trent family of engines built by Rolls-Royce to enter service almost 25 years ago.
Since then it has racked up tens of millions of flying hours with operators across the world.
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Speaking after the BelugaXL’s maiden flight last year, Adair Swan, Rolls-Royce’s programme director for mature large engines, said: “We are very proud to be powering the BelugaXL for Airbus.
“As well as being a plane-spotter’s delight, aircraft like these have a very special role to play in bringing the aerospace supply chain to life.
“The Trent 700 engine is the perfect engine to support this critical process, with more than 50 million flying hours under its belt.”