Wednesday 15/04/2009 (09:25-21:15L)

April’s second, this time on foot, with a single tour (Mach II) booked to provide access to the main plant.

A week after my last visit it was especially pleasing to witness the roll-out of the first A330MRTT for the UK Royal Air Force, the unmated components having been seen entering the FAL previously.

A similar event may have occured with the latest ATR72 destined for the Brasilian airline TRIP Linhas Aereas which was seen entering the paint hall the previous week. This is to be confirmed as it was witnessed from the palne as we taxied to the gate so could not be confirmed by the naked eye. These two events, plus the arrival of the hoped-for Asiana A320 just as I cleared security, phew… more than compensated for the variable weather conditions.

Shots at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a380spotter/sets/72157617032093830/

The usual disclaimers apply: Brackets indicate assumed reg. from previous intelligence. No brackets = positive sighting. All times are French local.

All frames parked-up, unless noted.

Toulouse: Blagnac – Wednesday 15/04/2009 (09:25-21:15L)

AIRBUS PLANT

A300

0988 330-243 F-WWKI Hainan Airlines, full colours. Parked at H. ZIEGLER DC, terminal-side.

2. 72-212A TRIP Linhas Aereas, full colours. Noted being towed past BIKINI in direction of St. Martin du Touch and out of sight. Presumed to be MSN874 which was seen entering the 320 bay at Aero Technique Espace for paint on 8th April.

3. 72-212A All white. Parked on St. Martin du Touch apron. Not MSN805, mentioned above.

4. 42-500 Primer with grey tail, complete – with props. Now has visible markings, but these could not be read from moving tour coach. Parked at very rear of St. Martin du Touch apron, near ATR hangars.

Latecoere Aeroservices

503 42-500 VT-ADI Air Deccan, old colours. Parked outside on storage ramp..

510 42-500 VT-ADH Air Deccan, old colours. Parked outside main hangar, by the front gate.

691 42-500 F-WWLM All white. Parked outside on storage ramp. Cockpit and cabin windows now covered with silver tape. Long term storage configuration.

785 72-212A F-WWED Simplifly Deccan, full colours. Parked outside on storage ramp, in same storage configuration as MSN691.

836 72-212A F-WWEC fly 540 Rwanda, full colours. Parked outside near the front gate, in same storage configuration as MSN691.

845 72-212A F-WWEK fly 540 Angola, full colours. Parked outside near the front gate, in same storage configuration as MSN691.

846 72-212A F-WWEL Islas Airways, full colours. Parked outside on storage ramp in same configuration as MSN691.

851 72-212A F-WWEU fly 540 Angola, full colours. Parked outside on storage ramp in same configuration as MSN691.

Additional frames which could not be read off due to position were:

None noted this visit.

Air France Industries

3831 320-216 EI-DTC Alitalia – full colours. Departed at 16:10, presumably on delivery.

Selected Visitors

CN-RNH 735 RAM

D-AGWF 319 GW

D-AOLG 100 OLT

D-AOLH 100 OLT

D-AWUE 146 WDL

EC-HZR CR2 ANE

EC-JEE CR2 ANE

EC-JXZ CR9 ANE

EC-??? 320 IWD (full standard colours) operating TY2391/2392 to VLC

EI-DES 320 EIN

F-GIXD 733 FPO

F-GIXO 733 FPO

F-GZTB 733 FPO

F-GMLX M83 BLE, noted receiving attention to engine. Noted in Airbus plant BIKINI test cell performing engine runs at 19:00.

F-GRPZ AT7 CCM

F-HBXC E70 RLA

G-CDPT 763 GSM opf REU

G-EZAI 319 EZY

G-EZAN 319 EZY

G-EZDE 319 EZY

G-EZIA 319 EZY

HB-JQA DH4 BBO F70225 GVA-TLS

OO-TAJ 146 TAY

OY-SRJ 762 SRR

D-CEEE Citation XL

F-HBMB C500

A380spotter

238 300B4-203 F-WUAB Parked outside A300 hall in prototype colours.

655/1 300-608ST F-GSTA Arrived 20:08.

751/2 300-608ST F-GSTB Arrived 16:42.
765/3 300-608ST F-GSTC In unpack 14:30, departed 16:30.

776/4 300-608ST F-GSTD Not noted this visit.
796/5 300-608ST F-GSTF Departed 09:40, landing back 19:45.

A320 family
0001 320-200 F-WWBA Airbus. Departed at 09:53, landing back at 11:11. Departed again at 16:44, flying a single circuit, performing a touch and go at 16:50, before flying a further circuit and landing back at 16:54.

0659 320-232 F-WWDB DLR, testbed. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch.

3356 319-115(X) ACJ F-WBGX Private customer. Noted parked outside Airbus Corporate Jet hangar, in mostly cream colours with maroon and gold stripes on belly and base of engines. APU housing is in full (green) primer.

3621 320-232 F-WWIK Kingfisher Airlines, full colours EXCEPT for tail logo. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch.

3861 320-214 F-WWBP Bahrain Air, full colours. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch. Taxied out at 11:05, entering BIKINI for engine runs from 11:05 to 12:20, then back to original position.

3868 320-214 F-WWIC Iberworld, full colours. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch.

3871 320-214 F-WWIG easyJet Airline, full colours. Parked at rear of the H. ZIEGLER DC. Performed customer acceptance flight 10:15-11:25. Disappeared from sight at some point before 14:15 and not seen again.

3873 320-232 F-WWIH Asiana Airlines, full colours. Arrived at 19:35, presumably from XFW.

3875 320-216 F-WWII Indonesia AirAsia, full colours. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch.

3885 320-216 F-WWIY All white colours. Believed to be destined for Air One/Alitalia. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch.

3889 320-214 F-WWBX Iberworld, full colours. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch.

3891 320-214 F-WWDC SATA Internacional, full NEW colours. At Station Carburant.

3894 320-214 F-WWDF NAS – National Air Services, full colours. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch (terminal-side) and later repositioned further back at 15:10.

3896 320-214 F-WWDI All white colours. Believed to be destined for Alafco/Rubban Logistics. At Station Carburant.

Additional frames which could not be read off due to position were:

3863 320-232 (F-WWDY/VT-INY) IndiGo, full colours. Parked at rear of ZIEGLER DC.

3866 320-214 (F-WWDZ/VQ-BDE) S7 Airlines, full colours. Parked at rear of ZIEGLER DC.

3898 320-214 (F-WW??) Shenzhen Airlines, full colours. At Station Carburant.

Bits and pieces:

3921 320-216 All-white tail seen being trolleyed from Beluga unpack area to 320 production area. Believed to be destined for Air One/ Alitalia.

3937 320-232? Front and rear sections noted outside Beluga unpack area. Believed to be destined for China Eastern.

39?? 320-200 Front and rear sections noted outside Beluga unpack area.

A330/340 family
0001 340-311 F-WWAI Airbus. Not seen.

0360 340-642 F-WWCA Airbus. Parked on development test flight line.

0856 340-642(X) (F-WWTJ) (Etihad Airways) Fuselage section (aft of wing) seen on low-loader outside Aero Technique Espace complex. Still in Etihad colours. Removal of bins, wall panels and insulation now complete.

0886 340-542 F-WWTG Kingfisher Airlines, full colours. Engine socks, doors, cockpit and undercarriage legs well taped-up against the elements. Parked on J.L.LAGARDERE (A380) apron. Continued storage.

0894 340-542 F-WWTH All white, with red (ex-Kingfisher Airlines, i.e. no logos) engines. Parked on midfield apron.

0902 340-542 F-WWTJ Kingfisher Airlines, full colours. Parked on midfield apron, stored.

0925 330-203 F-WWKB Low visibility scheme, engineless. Doors, cockpit and undercarriage legs well taped-up against the elements. Parked on main apron at St. Martin du Touch. Continued storage.

0960 340-642 F-WWCG Iberia, full colours. Engine socks, doors, cockpit and undercarriage legs well taped-up against the elements. Parked on J.L.LAGARDERE (A380) apron. Continued storage.

0980 330-203 F-WWYR (Standard green) primer, including tail – engineless. Parked on development test flight line.

0993 340-642 ‘F-WWKC’ – typo for F-WWCK. Parked at rear of St. Martin du Touch apron. Engineless. Stored.

0995 330-243 F-WWKQ All standard (green) primer with MEA – Middle East Airlines engine and winglet colours. Parked on corner of l’aubrevouir. Test flying from 15:53 – 18:06, performing a missed approach at 17:50.

1000 330-343E HB-JHA Swiss International Air Lines, full colours. Parked at H. ZIEGLER DC, terminal-side. Pushed-back at 17:00, departing at 17:15, presumably on delivery.

1001 330-323E F-WWKL Asiana Airlines, full colours. Parked at rear of l’aubrevouir. Taxied out at 10:45, performing a Rejected Take Off at 10:59, and then back to original position.

1003 330-343E F-WWKR Thai Airways International, full colours. Parked at corner of l’aubrevouir.

1005 340-642 F-WWCR Lufthansa, full colours. ‘HZ’ = D-AIHZ fin id. Parked on l’aubrevouir, terminal-side.

1007 330-302E F-WWYC Finnair, full colours. Parked at l’aubrevouir, terminal-side.

1008 330-243 F-WWYD HiFly, all white colours. Parked at l’aubrevouir, plant-side.

1009 330-243 F-WWYE AVIANCA Columbia, full colours. Parked at l’aubrevouir, plant-side. Noted in BIKINI performing engine runs at 15:00, out at 16:15 and back to original position. Back in for more engine runs from 19:15 – 19:25.

1010 330-343E F-WWYF Singapore Airlines, full colours. Parked at l’aubrevouir, plant-side. Departed on test flight at 15:18, landing back at 16:23.

1012 330-343E F-WWKA Singapore Airlines, full colours. Parked at l’aubrevouir, terminal-side.

1016 330-243 F-WWYI AVIANCA Columbia, full colours. Noted inside part-open General Finishing hangar on the ADER site.

1017 340-642 F-WWCS Iberia, full colours. Parked outside ADER FAL, engineless. ‘KZI’ painted on fin already, = EC-KZI and named ‘MIGUEL HERNANDEZ’.

1025 330-302E F-WWYU Primer and full Aer Lingus tail and winglet colours. Parked outside C. ADER FAL.

1026 330-343E (F-WW??) Primer (tail could not be seen through part-open hangar door. On C. ADER FAL in poste 30D.

1028 330-243 (F-WW??) Primer with full Hainan Airlines tail. ILFC customer stickers. On C. ADER FAL in poste 30C.

1031 330-223 (F-WW??) Primer, tail could not be seen, but believed to still be all primer, as per sighting on 8th April. On C. ADER FAL in poste 30A.

1033 330-243MRTT (F-WW??) Standard (green) primer with ‘low-viz’ grey tail (which may have had some black text on it). Noted rolling out of Poste 36/37 mating jig (i.e. complete frame) at 15:00. Tour bus was just leaving the area so impossible to see if test reg. had been applied. RAF customer stickers.

Additional frames which could not be read off due to position were:

10?? 3??-??? Primer fuselage could be seen, but no tail, customer stickers or MSN stencils. 😦 On C. ADER FAL in poste 30B.

Bits and pieces:

None noted this visit.

A380

001 380-841 F-WWOW Airbus. Not seen.

002 380-841 F-WXXL Airbus. Not seen. Hangared undergoing re-work to production standard as a business jet.

004 380-841 F-WWDD Airbus. Not seen. Hangared undergoing re-work to production standard.

007 380-861 F-WWJB Airbus. Note revised designation (was built as a Rolls Royce-powered -841). Parked on Aero Constellation production flight line, stand A17. Full Airbus House colours, apart from all-white rudder and full Emirates engine colours. Last seen by me – in the open – in December 2007. Now converted to production standard for delivery to airline customer. Visible clues of work are (replacement) all-white rudder, patches of primer on main tail, replacement engines and (green) primer doors, plus windows which now sport stickers on the inside, as per Airbus production standards. Emergency exit slides yet to be re-installed. Destined for Emirates Airline.

009 380-861 F-WWEA Airbus. Not seen. Hangared undergoing re-work to production standard.

023 380-861 F-WWST (Standard green) primer with full Emirates tail (base of rudder is solid white). Parked on Aero Constellation production flight line, stand A14.

040 380-861 F-WWSE (Standard green) primer with (old) Air France tail. Parked on Aero Constellation production flight line, stand A19. Destined for Air France as F-HPJB.

ATR Plant

098 72-600 F-WWEY House. Not seen.

788 72-212A F-WWEG Kingfisher, ntu. (Solid) dirty khaki colours. Parked on ATR DC, plant-side.

801 42-500 F-WWLT Air St. Pierre, full colours. Parked on ATR flight line.

805 72-212A F-WWEQ Kingfisher Airlines, ntu. All white colours. Parked on ATR flight line.

816 72-212A F-WWEF fly 540 Angola, full colours. Parked on ATR flight line.

848 72-212A F-WWEN Finncomm Airlines, full colours. Parked on ATR DC, terminal side first thing. Then re-positioned to ATR flight line.

860 72-212A F-WWEF Firefly, full colours. Parked at the ATR DC, plant-side.

862 72-212A F-WWEJ Air Tahiti, full colours. Parked on ATR DC, terminal side

864 72-212A F-WWEM Naysa – full Binter Canarias colours. Noted in BIKINI at 09:25, taxied out and departed at 10:42. Landed back at 11:37, then parked at the ATR DC, terminal-side.

865 72-212A F-WWEO TRIP Linhas Aereas, full colours. Parked at the ATR DC, plant-side.

866 72-212A F-WWEP Precisionair, full colours. Taxied out to BIKINI at 11:30, leaving at 12:15. Then positioned out of sight until 16:40 when it was towed past BIKINI in the direction of St. Martin du Touch, and out of sight.

873 72-212A F-WWEX MAS Wings, full colours. Rolled out of the ATR bay at Aero technique Espace at 17:20, and towed to main St. Martin area and out of sight.

Additional frames which could not be read off due to position were:

1. 72-212A Tarom, full colours. Parked on the main ramp at St. Martin du Touch, away from main ATR flight line. Presumed to be MSN861 F-WWEH.