A400M Flies

today, at 10.16AM, the A400M has taken flight for the first time from Seville.
it even performed a short take-off on its first flight 😮

http://www.abendblatt.de/wirtschaft/article1304263/Der-Militaertransporter-A400M-hebt-endlich-ab.html

Seville. The Airbus A400M military transport has started to clock 10.16 in Seville in southern Spain. When is a planned duration of the flight to three hours. For the maiden flight of Spanish King Juan Carlos and government officials traveled to the countries that have ordered the military aircraft. Germany is represented by Defense Secretary Rüdiger Wolf.

The Airbus A400M is the first time started in the Spanish city of Seville.
At a cost of 20 billion euro A400M is Europe’s largest defense project. 2013, the first machines to be shipped to France, Germany, later in the series.

Overshadowed, however, is the maiden flight of the dispute over the financing of the project, which has been plagued in the past repeatedly development problems: Over the originally agreed fixed price also calls on manufacturers to the aerospace and defense group EADS, consumer countries are currently additional five billion euros. In Seville, the Secretaries of the Ministries of Defense want to continue the search for a solution. According parties to advise them on a price per aircraft to offset the high additional costs. Germany has, however, opposed this idea, they said. EADS declined comment.

Germany, with 60 of a total 180 orders the greatest consumer of the A400M, which will replace the army for more than 30 years old Transall. Especially for the mission in Afghanistan will require much larger turboprop aircraft, which is supposed to have when normally loaded with 20 tons of troops and supplies a range of about 3500 kilometers. A successful maiden flight is considered crucial for the A400M project. (AFP / Reuters / abendblatt.de)