Lufthansa Technik has taken delivery of the first of two Airbus A321LR aircraft due to go to the German Air Force. The German MRO specialist will now convert this jet, and another one due to follow soon, to meet the criteria required by the airforce.
When Airbus delivers a narrowbody jet, it has typically already installed its cabin. This means that the aircraft is good to go once the airline receives it. However, when you don’t want a standard aircraft cabin, it is not uncommon for a third party to insert the cabin following the jet’s delivery. This is typically the case on private jets, for example.
15+10 has been delivered
Yesterday, Airbus delivered the first Airbus A321LR due to go to the German government. However, rather than delivering the aircraft to the state registered as 15+10, it was instead given to Lufthansa Technik in what could be one of the world’s shortest delivery flights.
The aircraft left the Airbus manufacturing plant at Finkenwerder near Hamburg at around 18:30 local time. According to data from RadarBox.com, the jet had touched down at Hamburg Airport at 18:41, approximately 11 minutes later. The aircraft’s maximum altitude reached only 5,000 feet for the incredibly short flight. This is nothing like the typical delivery flight.
Time to be converted
According to Lufthansa Technik, the MRO specialist will now convert the aircraft into the configuration desired by the German armed forces. Specifically, it will be critical that the plane can be quickly transformed between uses. For example, it may be a high-density troop transporter one minute and then a medical evacuation aircraft the next minute. The Luftwaffe recently released a video showing the process of converting a plane between the two,
Während die Verladung der Patienten am Flughafen Memmingen läuft, ist unser #A319OH auf dem Weg nach Riga. Hier wird ein militärischer Covid-Transport für 🇩🇪 Soldaten durchgeführt. Vergangene Woche ist das Flugzeug mit Transporteinheiten ausgestattet worden:#TeamLuftwaffe pic.twitter.com/3ult1Hxgtk
— Team_Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) December 3, 2021
The plane will have a total of four possible configurations, with the possibility to carry up to 136 passengers at once in a transport configuration. Meanwhile, the jet can carry up to six intensive care patients or 12 moderately ill patients in the medical configurations.
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According to Lufthansa Technik, the conversion work will be completed in the second half of 2022, assuming that all goes to plan. Lufthansa Technik is expected to take delivery of the second aircraft to start conversions within the coming weeks.
This isn’t the only conversion work that the German flag carrier’s maintenance division is undertaking for the German state. Lufthansa Technik is also in the process of converting three Airbus A350-900s into a VIP configuration to carry around heads of state and other important people. One has already been completed with a temporary cabin while the other two are converted. Once this process has been completed, the first will return to Lufthansa Technik to receive its full cabin.
What do you make of the A321LR delivery for the German armed forces? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!
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