Is it a plane? Is it a… whale? Well, yes, on both accounts – this is the enormous Airbus Beluga, an aircraft so big that it is designed to carry other planes.
The biggest predator in the sea isn’t the great white shark, as many would assume, but rather the Orcas.
While appearing to be friendly showoffs, the killer whale is aptly named. It’s capable of swallowing its prey whole, with a stomach able to house even the biggest of its competitors.
That’s also the same for the Airbus Beluga. This Welsh powerhouse was built to hold planes in its belly and spit out the parts at factories around the globe.
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A red dragon generally dominates the lower skylines in Wales, UK, as the national symbol is proudly displayed on the flag.
But the Beluga whale planes are quite a common sight there, too, despite there only being nine in the world.
Costing roughly $250 million each to create, the Airbus Beluga is a busy aircraft carrier that docks at its home in Hawarden, UK.
But the humongous plane is a rare occurrence outside of Wales, docking at only a few Airbus plants around the globe, such as Seoul in Korea, Toulouse in France, and Alaska in North America.
All of which means that few people have actually seen inside of these gentle giants.
That is until now. YouTube documentary makers Naked Science have opened up the whale’s mouth, literally, to take a peek inside.
Highlighted on their channel, Nakes Science witnessed the Airbus Beluga touching down in Hawarden for its signature 80-minute turnaround.
The planes are notorious frequent fliers, escorting Airbus plane parts around the world.
This time, Naked Science saw millions of pounds worth of airplane wings being onboarded with clockwork precision. At which point, ‘Number 2’ was sent off to the north of France.
While you might imagine the Beluga to have all kinds of luxury compartments in its belly, the interior is actually simply a chasm for Airbus planes to be swallowed into.
No seats, aside from the cockpit, just one big luggage compartment.
It’s safe to say the pilots don’t have to worry about their suitcase size.
Number 2 doesn’t have the same painted smile as some of the other Airbus Beluga carriers. But seeing it land and take off is almost hard to comprehend.
Yet the flying whale makes its incline with ease and cracks on with its job as the biggest courier in the world.
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