Airbus A400M Wingover First Display ILA Berlin 2010

[spike7451]

Question,what is all the silver stuff on the fusalage? Is it to capture flight data?

[Jabba]

Question,what is all the silver stuff on the fusalage? Is it to capture flight data?

I think that they maybe some sort of strain gauges.

[Alex Gordon]

Speed Tape?

Thanks for the video,very impressive.

[Warris]

That'll be the speed tape for sure already!!

[F111Fan]

I love the way the engines are installed to eliminate torque steer And great find, thanks for sharing

[Scarlet]

To be called the Atlas C1 in RAF service.

http://fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopi...287&t=22787

[Piltdown Man]

The silver tape, otherwise known as "instant airframe" or "airframe in a roll" is used in a variety of ways. It is a temporary fixative. Sometimes it is used to secure wires or pipes externally, like some of the tape on the fuselage, where it looks like there is an array of static ports, which is very normal for pre-production aircraft. Other uses consist of sealant, sealant covers, temporary writing pads and so forth. It's also very useful around the house and for modelling. But like most things connected with aviation, it is € MANY per roll, it is VERY expensive.

I love the way the engines are installed to eliminate torque steer

I think you'll find that it is just a different gearbox (part) and a different set of props, which means you have to additional spares. I also think the reason for the contra-rotating props is that this thing will really shift (like the Tu-95 Bear) and at high speed you don't really want asymmetric flow over a swept wings. That is just a bit too complicated. Torque, gyroscopic, p-effect and corkscrew effects will still occur when flying engine out and these are overcome by having a powerful rudder.

Lovely aircraft though and probably very simple to fly.

PM

[XV571]

Yes, it's Speed Tape. Most of it was applied because during testing (after the first aircraft components commenced build) an issue was identified with lightning strikes on the carbon fibre structure. It was sorted out fairly quickly but the fix couldn't be retrofitted to MSN001. To ensure the aircraft was properly protected during the test programme, the speed tape was used in the most vulnerable areas. The aircraft won't enter normal service (I think it'll be retired once testing is finished) so another, more expensive, solution wouldn't have been worthwhile and would have delayed the first flight and testing even longer.

Technically the props aren't contra-rotating but counter-rotating. Contra-rotating props are found on the same engine to counter the torque effect of one large propeller - think some marks of Griffon Spitfire or the Wyvern and Gannet. The outer propellers on the A400M rotate in the opposite direction to the inners to give the same effect; the P-38 Lightning used the same solution. The rotation of the inners was also chosen to allow the side doors to be used for paratroop drops - a practice which is not recommended for aircraft like the Hercules where the propwash can cause the parachutist to bounce off the fuselage after jumping out!