With the static test airframe complete in Getafe and the first production aircraft now taking shape at the final assembly site in Seville, the A400M programme has recently taken a significant step forward.

At the beginning of April this year Airbus France delivered the centre wing box by road from its Nantes factory to the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Seville, Spain. The first set of outer wings, produced by Airbus UK in Filton, was also transported to Seville, in this case by the Airbus Super Transport aircraft, the “Beluga”.

Although assembled at the FAL, this complete A400M wing had not reached its final destination. In July, the complete wing structure was then transported by road to the EADS-MTA static test facility in Getafe, near Madrid. Here, the wing was mated to the fuselage already in situ and work began on equipping the static test airframe with the thousands of sensors and strain gauges to be installed on what is designated “Aircraft 5000”, the complete A400M static test specimen.

Transporting the 42 metre-long wing was an exploit in itself, involving a specially-built road trailer. A route was reconnoitred and the convoy moved over the 530 kilometres between Seville and Madrid during the night.

The second complete wing set was also delivered from Filton at the beginning of August to the FAL in Seville, where formal start of the first A400M production aircraft has begun.