Airbus A400M

Airbus plans to produce around 30 aircrafts each year. Production line is in Seville, Spain. Coincidentally Seville is where A400M first flew, in 11th of December, 2009. First flight lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes and the aircraft has received really positive comments from the pilots. Ignacio Lombo, second pilot, has made a comment that the A400M is very responsive and performs all instructions with great precision.

Airbus A400M

Primary goal of the test flight was to test all onboard systems, and all tests passed successfully. No issues were encountered during the flight.

The A400M is yet to receive licenses for use as military and civil cargo aircraft.

Airbus A400M

Airbus A400M can operate in many different configurations: cargo transport, troop transport, medical evacuation, aerial refuelling and electronic surveillance.

The aircraft is powered by four Europrop TP400-D6 engines rated at 8,250 kW (11,000 hp) each. Unlike the majority setups, where all propellers turn in the same direction, A400M propellers on each wing turn in opposite directions to each other. This is achieved by installing a gearbox on two of the engines, which means that all engines are identical and turn in the same direction.

Airbus A400M

General characteristics

• Crew: 3 or 4 (2 pilots, 3rd optional, 1 loadmaster)
• Capacity: 37,000 kg (82,000 lb)
• 116 fully equipped troops / paratroops,
• up to 66 stretchers accompanied by 25 medical personnel
• Length: 45.1 m (148 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 42.4 m (139 ft 1 in)
• Height: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
• Empty weight: 69,853 kg (154,000 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 141,000 kg (310,852 lb)
• Max. Landing Weight: 114 tonnes (251,000 lb)
• Total Internal Fuel: 50.5 tonnes (111,333 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Europrop TP400-D6 turboprop, 8,250 kW (11,060 hp) each
• Propellers: 8-bladed, 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) diameter

Airbus a400m summary

Performance

• Cruising speed: 780 km/h (480 mph; 420 kn) (Mach 0.68 – 0.72)
• Initial Cruise Altitude: at max take-off weight: 9,000 m (29,000 ft)
• Range: 3,298 km (2,049 mi; 1,781 nmi) at max payload (long range cruise speed; reserves as per MIL-C-5011A)
• Range at 30-tonne payload: 4,540 km (2,450 nmi)
• Range at 20-tonne payload: 6,390 km (3,450 nmi)
• Ferry range: 8,710 km (5,412 mi; 4,703 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 11,300 m (37,073 ft)
• Maximum Operating Altitude: 12,000 m (40,000 ft)
• Tactical Takeoff Distance: 980 m (3,215 ft) (aircraft weight 100 tonnes, soft field, ISA, sea level)
• Tactical Landing Distance: 770 m (2,526 ft) (as above)
• Turning Radius (Ground): 28.6 m

Cost: €100 million.

Airbus A400M

Construction of the plane has taken lot longer than anticipated and this imposes a much higher cost of the aircraft, which some argue is not cost effective. Some speculate that Airbus might even cancel the production – only future will show what’s going to happen, but for now, let appreciate the scale and magnitude of the work involved and the engineering craft.

A400M in assembly line:

A400M assembly line

A400M assembly line

Testing the engines

Components are sourced from various locations where they are manufactured

A400M Components

This is how A400M measures in comparison to other cargo aircrafts. As you can see C-17 is larger and is much cheaper – currently €70mil, but this also includes support and service throughout the lifetime of an aircraft. This is one of the major reasons for the proposed halt of the A400M production.

A400M Size comparison

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