Military airlifter takes off

According to Airbus, the aircraft’s take-off weight was 127 tonnes, including 15 tonnes of flight-test equipment including two tonnes of water ballast. Its performance was monitored in real time by teams of engineers in Seville and Toulouse using air-ground telemetry.

The A400M’s four Europrop International (EPI) TP400D turboprop power plants are capable of producing 11,000shp (8,200kW) each and are said to be the most powerful propeller engines ever fitted to a Western aircraft.

Over the last four weeks the aircraft has been extensively tested on the ground in a programme leading up to the first flight.

The engines have been run at full power, whilst the electrical systems and on-board data network have also been tested. Taxiing runs at progressively higher speeds have been performed culminating in a rejected take-off test at a speed of 123kt (227km/hr) on 8 December.

Today’s first flight, captained by Edward Strongman, chief test pilot military, marks the beginning of a test campaign that will see some 3,700 hours of flying by an eventual five aircraft conducted between now and entry-into-service at the end of 2012.