Product Overview
Produced to the highest standards, Herpa diecast metal models are developed in collaboration with aircraft manufacturers and the airlines and are recognized by discerning model airplane collectors worldwide for their unparalleled, accurate realism, attention to detail and exceptional quality. True-to-scale, this Herpa 1/500 scale Airbus Industries Beluga XL A330-700L measures approximately 4-7/8-inches long with a 4-3/4-inch wingspan. Additionally, the model is supplied with an easily interchangeable nose hatch, enabling it to be displayed with the nose hatch either open, for loading or unloading cargo, or closed. A Display Stand is not included and is sold separately - Herpa HE521024. Because Airbus Industries required additional cargo capacity primarily to transport components utilized in the manufacture of its Airbus A350 XWB, also taking into consideration that the much-used Beluga A300-600ST fleet was getting on in years, Airbus commenced preliminary studies in the early 2010s to investigate the feasibility of developing a successor to the original aircraft, which resulted in concrete plans coming to fruition in 2014. Noting that the new aircraft had to be able to take off and land on short runways, such as those at Hawarden Airport in Wales and Bremen Airport in Germany, the smaller version of the A330, the A330-200F was ultimately chosen for production. Boasting a far greater flying range of 2,300 nautical miles, that is nearly three times the distance of the Beluga A300-600ST, enabling much more flexible flight planning, the Beluga XL also has approximately 30% more cargo capacity than its predecessor and can transport two A350 XWB wings instead of one, consequently lowering transportation costs while concurrently boosting manufacturing output and efficiency. Readily recognized by its elongated, bulbous shape, painted eyes on both sides of the fuselage and prominent curved black stripe under the cockpit resembling a mouth, the Beluga XL, known as the XL2, is readily recognized as a whale and entered service in January 2020 with its first flight from Toulouse, France to Frankfurt, Germany.