Tag: airplanes

Watch Airbus Risk $1.5B in Insane Jumbo Jet Stunt

Airbus flew five of its new A350 XWB wide-body passenger jets in an epic stunt formation for a once-in-a-lifetime photo shoot.

The five test and development A350-900s took to the skies for a formation flight in September 2014, bringing together all of the aircraft used for Airbus’ successful campaign leading to certification of this latest Airbus widebody jetliner.

The company put their test pilots’ skill to the ultimate test in a promo video designed to show off its new A350 XWB passenger jet. The beautifully choreographed stunt involved all five of the brand-new A350-900 jets, as well as two chase planes and a helicopter flying in a formation typically pulled off by high performance fighter jets.

The costs of the shoot are unknown, but each jet has a list price of $300 million, so it’s safe to assume that well over $1.5 billion of machinery was on the line.

airbus-a350xwb-formation-flight-01

Check Out The Enourmous Ekranoplan That The Soviet Union Intended To Use As A Nuclear Weapons Transport

Ekranoplane 2

One of the largest “planes” ever built, the KM was designed by Russia as a high speed military transport. Taking it’s first flight in 1966, the ekranoplan was later revealed to the world by American sky satellites which showed a strange aircraft bearing the letters “KM” on its fuselage. The CIA named it the “Kaspian Monster”, though KM actually referred to “Korabl maket” – “prototype ship” in Russian.

Ekranoplane 2

One of the largest “planes” ever built, the KM was designed by Russia as a high speed military transport. Taking it’s first flight in 1966, the ekranoplan was later revealed to the world by American sky satellites which showed a strange aircraft bearing the letters “KM” on its fuselage. The CIA named it the “Kaspian Monster”, though KM actually referred to “Korabl maket” – “prototype ship” in Russian.

Ekranoplane 1

It is classified as an ekranoplan as opposed to an airplane because it uses an aerodynamic principle known as ground effect to fly 3-5 meters above the sea. Only one prototype was ever constructed, though the Soviets had planned to use a fleet to transport equipment, including nuclear weapons, around the Caspian Sea and Black Sea.

Documented a a marine vessel, the KM could reach speeds up to 400 mph. The KM was tested at the Caspian Sea for 15 years until a crash in 1980. The only model ever produced, the MD-160, was retired in the late 1990s and now sits rusting at a naval station in Kaspiysk.

Source: English Russia