Schematic diagrams of a planned development at Airbus’s UK wing facility further indicate that the A330 is the candidate for a high-capacity transport to succeed the A300-600ST Beluga.
Detailed diagrams for a Beluga line station at the Broughton plant show the plan view of the A300-600ST at the docking point overlaid by a larger aircraft whose dimensions are consistent with a modified A330-300.
Airbus has been examining potential candidate airframes to complement and replace its A300-600STs – of which it has five – in order to have sufficient capacity to ramp up A350 production.
The new line station would provide a weatherproof area for loading and unloading Beluga transports and would be located south of the runway and east of the wing-equipping facility.
Airbus’s supporting statement, in its planning application to the local council, says that wings manufactured at Broughton would be transferred from production hangars to external racks for short-term storage.
They would then be transferred to the new Beluga line station and either loaded onto the waiting jet or moved to internal wing racks until the aircraft arrives.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
