Boeing and Airbus have both developed fuselage transporter aircraft based on their commercial
aircraft series. These are designed to carry components for their aircraft to
central assembly locations. Here, we’ll take a look at both the Boeing Dreamlifter and
Airbus Beluga XL, focussing on the differences between the two programs and aircraft.
Both Boeing and Airbus construct their aircraft components globally.
Airbus started out of cooperation between several European manufacturers, and construction remains
split between different countries (and now not only in Europe). Boeing brings components together
from Italy and Japan for assembly in the US. Such parts could be sent by sea and land, but
it is much faster by air. And these are aircraft manufacturers, after all! Both companies have
therefore developed their own transport aircraft. They are also used for other cargo transportation,
but their primary focus (and design) is around the movement of aircraft components.
Boeing launched its first Dreamlifter in 2006, to support the construction of the 787 Dreamliner. It
is also known as the Large Cargo Freighter (LCF). With 787 suppliers located in Italy and Japan
(as well as across the US), conventional land and sea transportation would not work.
The solution was to develop the Dreamlifter based on the 747-400 airframe. This kept the
same basic design and wingspan but altered the fuselage and tail. The largest difference is the
bulging fuselage. Less obviously, the fuselage is extended with an additional conical section
(to 71.68 meters, up from 70.6 meters). And the tail is increased in height by around 1.5 meters,
which aids control of the altered aircraft.
Rather than build new aircraft, Boeing converted four 747-400s previously used as passenger
aircraft. One came from Air China, another from Malaysia Airlines, and two from China Airlines.
The reconfiguration was carried out in Taiwan with Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation.
The first aircraft was completed in 2006 and entered service in 2007.
The fourth was in service in 2010. They were initially operated by Seattle-based Evergreen
International Airlines, and this switched to Atlas Air in 2010 (Evergreen ceased operations in 2013).
A critical difference between the Dreamlifter and the Beluga is their cargo
access. The Beluga has an opening front nose door similar to that seen on the 747, but above
the cockpit area for full fuselage access. The Dreamlifter has a more unusual swing tail door.
This was not something done before on Boeing’s commercial aircraft and proved quite a challenge.
The door had to remain secure and latched in different operating environments and transmit the
load correctly between the fuselage and the tail. The solution is a hydraulically controlled door
(which requires ground support to operate) with a proprietary 21 bolt locking system.
With such a door, the APU was also removed (to avoid running fuel lines through the door hinges).
This leaves the Dreamlifter reliant on an external supply for engine start.
Loading is interesting too. It uses a device known as a DBL,
a specialized device constructed by the French company TLD. At 35.96
meters long, it holds the Guinness World Record title of ‘longest aircraft loader in the world!’
Airbus launched the Beluga XL in 2020, with its main objective to carry parts for the A350.
Like the Dreamlifter, it came about to meet a specific need to move components.
In particular, it is designed to take A350 wings – both of them. Its predecessor, the Beluga,
would only be capable of carrying one wing. Like the Dreamlifter, the Beluga XL has a
limited route map. This includes Broughton in the UK, where wings are produced,
as well as other sites in France, Germany, Spain, and China. Getafe in Spain was
added to the route network in August 2020. The Beluga XL is based on a modified A330-200
airframe and is named for its distinctive smiling whale appearance. Again there are several
modifications made to this. It uses the reinforced floor structure from the A330-200 freighter
and a combination of designs from the A330-200 and A330-300 for the main fuselage. The wingspan
is unchanged, but the tail is larger, and there are ventral fins added to the tail assembly.
It is loaded through an upwards opening hinged cargo door at the front of the aircraft. The A330
cockpit is moved lower, below the fuselage floor. This allows the door to open without affecting the
electronic and flight control systems. This system is also used for its predecessor, the Beluga. But
it was a limitation of the ear lier Super Guppy (and resulted in much longer turnaround times).
There will be a larger fleet of Beluga XL aircraft tha n Dreamlifters,
with six planned to enter service by 2024.
The first aircraft was delivered in January 2020. The third came in late October 2020.
They will continue to operate alongside the existing Beluga fleet. Airbus moves a lot
more than just A350 parts around Europe, and this will continue.
Airbus’ fuselage transporters go back further than Boeing’s. The Beluga XL was only introduced
in 2020. Before that, Airbus used the Beluga and the Super Guppy, going right back to its founding.
Airbus introduced the Super Guppy aircraft in 1972. This was a fleet of four modified
Boeing Stratocruisers and were used to transport parts for Airbus’ first aircraft,
the A300. Right from the start, Airbus’ operation was decentralized, with the construction of
components taking place in several countries. The Super Guppy was replaced by the Beluga,
with the need for larger parts to be transported when the A340 was developed.
One aircraft remains in service with NASA. The Belugas was introduced in 1995.
It was developed based on the A300-600 airframe, with a significantly enlarged
fuselage for cargo transport. Five Beluga aircraft entered service between 1995 and 1999.
The two aircraft have several similarities. Both were designed to meet the needs
of specific transportation and to take advantage of existing airframe designs.
They have worked well to speed the production of aircraft, compared to ground transportation.
Airbus has had such transporters for much longer due to its history of construction across
different European locations from the 1970s. And it has always had a larger transporter fleet.
There are also several structural and equipment differences other than size. Most significantly,
the different ways each manufacturer has approached cargo access to the fuselage. These
methods are very different but have both required some complex engineering and bespoke development.
The pure size of these aircraft is not the most important part. They are each designed
to meet the specific transportation requirements of different aircraft components. But of course,
one has to be bigger than the other! For pure volume, the Beluga XL is the leader.
It offers a fuselage volume of 2,209 cubic meters. The Dreamlifter comes in behind at 1,840 cubic
meters. For completeness, the Beluga comes in behind both, with a volume of 1,500 cubic meters
But for body length, the Dreamlifter wins. It is a stretched version of the 747-400 fuselage
with a total length of 71.68 meters. The Beluga XL has a length of 63.1 meters. The new 747-8
beats both of them, though, and the upcoming 777-9 will reach an impressive 76.7 meters.
Size isn’t everything – weight matters as well for a freighter.
The Dreamlifter gets ahead here, largely due to its basis on the four-engine 747-400. It
offers a maximum payload of 113,400 kg. The Beluga XL has a maximum payload of 50,500 kg.
And don’t forget as well the role of the Antonov An-225 as a large transporter. This
does not have the fuselage volume of the Beluga or Dreamlifter but can carry a payload of around
250,000 kilograms. Most airlines and aircraft
types have suffered during the slowdown in 2020 and 2021 – the Dreamlifter and Beluga
are no exception. Simple Flying took a detailed look at this recently, with the
help of data from RadarBox.com. Both aircraft saw a significant drop in utilization, as you would
expect with both manufacturers slowing production. Overall, the Dreamlifter has done slightly better,
with a demand drop of around 40%. The Beluga experienced around a 50% drop. This is not
all flying for carrying Boeing and Airbus components. They have also found other uses,
such as Boeing using its Dreamlifter for medical transport missions and various PPE deliveries.
The Dreamlifter and Beluga XL are great aircraft, serving a vital role for Boeing
and Airbus. With small fleets and limited routes, it’s unusual to see them in operation as well.
Feel free to discuss their design and history, or your experiences of them, in the comments.