flying the A400M

[britfrog 180]

the Grizzly, or Atlas as they now seem to call it, is a regular sight here as it runs through its flight test regime, it is by far the noisiest a/c in the sky except for the military jets that fly down our valley at 300feet but it seems to be quite a performer!

 

 

[allardjd 1,853]

Good video - I liked it and the guy pretty much tells it like it is. Would have liked to have seen more of that tactical approach; I think he said from 12,000' @ 3 miles - that's a descent.

 

Interesting airplane and apparently pretty well done, though still short of the load-carrying capability the original partners asked for. It was supposed to be able to carry a main battle tank, and can't, unless the up-armor kit goes in a separate flight.

 

As he states near the end, it's a niche airplane, between the C-130J and the C-17. It remains to be seen if the niche is wide enough to support significant sales. So far, it's not looking good with only the initial partners (who can't get out) and one or two others ponying up. Some of the AC designated for the original partner countries are being put up for immediate re-sale, so that works against Airbus selling more.

 

Like the A380, so far this AC has hurt Airbus financially. It will be interesting to see if down-the-road sales turn it from red to black. Airbus is in no real trouble - their small airliners are selling like hotcakes.

 

John