EQUIPMENT / AIRBUS <<


(left, below) The spacious all-glass cockpit of the A400M Atlas; (left, above) Seen from underneath showing the large fuselage that can carry a 30 tone load; (above) Taking off on another test flight, this shows the complex propellers that were developed for the aircraft.


load on the tall tail of the A400M but the concerns were unfounded. It was the same with propeller blade stress – something that affects the C-130 in turbulent conditions – but once again there were no problems and the load limits on tail and propellers were low.


Nation building


It was not until 2003 that eight nations (Germany, France, Spain, the UK, Turkey, Luxembourg, Belgium and Malaysia) signed an agreement to purchase 180 examples of the A400M to be built in Europe. It was never going to be easy, as each of the member partners had different requirements for the aircraft. They were also (mainly) used to the C-130 Hercules and were now being offered a new, up-to-date large transport aircraft. The saga of delays with the A400M is well-


winter 2012_13 | globaldefencemedia.com


documented: there were the inevitable problems on such a complex programme and the schedule slipped. Differences between the partners had to be resolved before building the aircraft could commence in Spain. A new company – Europrop International – was formed by the leading European engine manufacturers to design and build a new engine that would be capable of operating in a wide variety of conditions. Flight trials of the engine were made using a converted C-130 Hercules, and after some modifications were made the engine was signed off for build, with the A400Ms being completed in Spain. The UK is one of seven nations (Malaysia having dropped out) who will be purchasing Atlas from Airbus Military, while the development and build of the aircraft has created or secured work for 8,000 people in the UK. n


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Text reproduced with kind permission from Desider


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