Airbus BelugaXL, a super-transporter is one of the largest aircraft that has ever existed. The European aerospace giant, Airbus conducted the maiden test flight for BelugaXL on Thursday. The new transporter aircraft is six-meter longer and one meter wider in comparison to its predecessor. It is an even bigger version of the workhorse transport plane that came into service since the mid-1990s.

Nicknamed as 'Whale in the sky', the transporter aircraft is a highly modified version of Airbus A330-200 jetliner. The aircraft took its first test flight on Thursday at 10.30 am from the company's facility in Toulouse. The aircraft will put on test for at least ten months before flying it commercially.

Moreover, the five planes currently being developed will be employed to ferry around parts for building Airbus' other range of aircraft at its production facilities throughout Europe.

With the new BelugaXL, Airbus can now carry two wings of the A350 long-haul passenger jet instead of just one for a maximum distance of 4,000 kilometres.

According to Airbus, the new BelugaXL aircraft is 19 metres tall which is equivalent to a 3-storey house. It can also carry up to 51-tonnes of cargo, equal to seven adult male elephants. However, animals cannot be transported in the plane, as the hold is not pressurised.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2018 11:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).