Belugas of the Air | Kyle Huber

Airbus Hamburg First Impression

When I heard about a planned trip to Airbus a few months ago, I was ecstatic. When the day of the tour arrived, I was eager to learn more about Airbus and lay my eyes on their numerous innovations.

After a scenic, enjoyable ferry ride, despite a slight chill, our group arrived at Airbus’ Hamburg campus. Decidedly different from aesthetically appealing technology companies, Airbus’ campus was more functional and bland despite having gigantic buildings – hangars – to house the various aircraft components and the numerous required tools.

I spent most of the tour marveling at the large, complex aircraft and their assembled components in the hangars. From the smaller and more affordable A320, which is the company’s bread and butter, to the large A380, a double-decker airplane, which costs just shy of half a billion US dollars, the machines that Airbus produces are impressive and unique. Specifically interesting to me was the Airbus Beluga freight-liner. This plane boasts a large, surprising hump on the top of the aircraft to afford extra space for the transportation of large cargo including Airbus’ own incomplete fuselages. Despite seeming very inefficient due to obvious aerodynamic difficulties, Airbus values the Belugas greatly and employs five of these aircraft for transporting smaller airplane components to their global facilities. These planes alone depict a significant engineering challenge that Airbus is keen on tackling.

During this entire tour, I was fascinated by the impressive engineering incorporated into every aircraft and process at Airbus. In conjunction, the amount of international cooperation necessary in building these aircrafts is grandiose and inspiring. I left the tour feeling more excited than ever to start my own venture into the aerospace industry.