Beluga at Broughton

O.K. Got the whole story now, clever isn’t it!

Major structural sections of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Due to their size, they are brought to the assembly hall in Toulouse in France by surface transportation, rather than by the A300-600ST Beluga aircraft used for other Airbus models. Components of the A380 are provided by suppliers from around the world; the five largest contributors, by value, are Rolls-Royce, SAFRAN, United Technologies, General Electric, and Goodrich.[59]

The A380 transporter Ville de BordeauxThe front and rear sections of the fuselage are loaded on an Airbus Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ship, Ville de Bordeaux, in Hamburg in northern Germany, whence they are shipped to the United Kingdom.[60] The wings, which are manufactured at Filton in Bristol and Broughton in North Wales, are transported by barge to Mostyn docks, where the ship adds them to its cargo. In Saint-Nazaire in western France, the ship trades the fuselage sections from Hamburg for larger, assembled sections, some of which include the nose. The ship unloads in Bordeaux. Afterwards, the ship picks up the belly and tail sections by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA in Cádiz in southern Spain, and delivers them to Bordeaux. From there, the A380 parts are transported by barge to Langon, and by oversize road convoys to the assembly hall in Toulouse. New wider roads, canal systems and barges were developed to deliver the A380 parts. After assembly, the aircraft are flown to Hamburg to be furnished and painted. It takes 3,600 litres (950 gallons) of paint to cover the 3,100 m² (33,000 ft²) exterior of an A380.

Did you know that John Merrick and my Mother-in-law are twins

Reminds me of Dan Dare’s nemesis.. The Mekon !

Thanks for the clarification!;)

No, wings by Beluga, fuselage sections by barge .:)

From Chester/Broughton/Hawarden…. the wings for the A380 are taken by Barge, wings for the other series of Airbuses are taken by Beluga as the wings for the A380 cannot fit into the hold of the Beluga.

I Was under the impression they went by barge ..or does that just apply to the A380 wings

No, wings by Beluga, fuselage sections by barge .:)

Think it goes there too pick up wings from Airbus UK and takes them to either Hamburg or Toulouse.Nice shot there aswel

James

I Was under the impression they went by barge ..or does that just apply to the A380 wings

Cool pic. 🙂
Got a couple pics of it landing this morning on my phone but they are rubbish. Was also on the phone to my Dad when it landed this morning, he was stood outside his factory (A380)

Not sure if this helps but it flies over my work (in Chester) daily around 1pm ish heading into land at Broughton.

Do i Know you Mr TK Maxx Man!!!! Lol!!

Beluga Flights

Airbus has a fleet of 5 Belugas, that variously fly between the sites eg Toulouse, Hamburg, St Nazaire, Nantes, Broughton, and I think Bremen and a site in Spain.
It is obviously a well oiled logistics operation eg they are 3 in and out of HAM today, normally with only a 2 or 3 hour turnaround:) 🙂 🙂

Did you know that John Merrick and my Mother-in-law are twins

really?!

Yes the Beluga does arrive up to four times per day. I live under the approach in Wrexham so hear them quite regually. The factory in Broughton does shift wings, especially narrowbody at an amazing rate. But the Beluga doesnt just fly out wings, Rolls Royce use it sometimes for Engines.

Steve

is it just me…

the frontal shot of the Beluga sorta reminds me of the movie, “the elephant man.”

Did you know that John Merrick and my Mother-in-law are twins

is it just me…

the frontal shot of the Beluga sorta reminds me of the movie, “the elephant man.”

both the ones i saw, were around lunchtime, i suppose its just a case of the old waiting game, thanks for the replies chaps 😉

Seen one circling last Monday also. Impressive site

Cool pic. 🙂
Got a couple pics of it landing this morning on my phone but they are rubbish. Was also on the phone to my Dad when it landed this morning, he was stood outside his factory (A380)

Not sure if this helps but it flies over my work (in Chester) daily around 1pm ish heading into land at Broughton.

The A306ST flies as required, it can arrive up to 4 times per day.
Hope this helps.

Steve

I read this that there are four flights per day?:confused: I don’t think the busy bees are making four wings per day are they?

The only scheduled activity at the airfield for Airbus is the Privat A319 to and from Tolouse and the J41 to Bristol. The A306ST flies as required, it can arrive up to 4 times per day.

Hope this helps.

Steve

Think it goes there too pick up wings from Airbus UK and takes them to either Hamburg or Toulouse.Nice shot there aswel

James