| 1:150 Scale | | Length | | Width |
|---|
| Airbus A330-743L BelugaXL | | 16.5" | | 16" |
In 2013, the five original Belugas could not cope with production growth, and Airbus evaluated the Antonov An-124 and An-225, Boeing C-17 or Dreamlifter, and A400M, before choosing to modify one of its own aircraft. The BelugaXL (A330-743L) is based on the Airbus A330-200F and made its first flight on 19 July 2018. Airbus started operating the first BelugaXL on 9 January 2020 and all six freighters are expected to be operating by the end of 2023 as the previous A300-600STs are phased out.
Designed as a wide-bodied, long-haul passenger transport to compete with the Boeing 767, the A330 was first flown on November 2nd, 1992. It was designed as a lengthened version of the A300 and was developed in parallel with the larger, four-engined A340, enabling many of the components to be shared between the three types. The A330 also uses the same fly-by-wire technology that was introduced with the A320, featuring a glass cockpit and side-stick controllers. The A330 has the same range and payload capacity as a DC-10 with 25% greater fuel efficiency.