Airbus A400M (Luftwaffe) on display

Airbus A400M (Luftwaffe) on displayRecent visits by this ground-breaking military transport plane to BHX have provided some quite unusual sights and sounds that probably not many people have experienced.

Size-wise it sits roughly between the Lockheed C-130 and Boeing C-17. Its 8-bladed propellers are driven by the most powerful turboprop engines produced – at 11,000 horsepower each – excepting some Russian designs with a pair of contra-rotating props. As can be seen here, the props on each wing are counter-rotating, creating some interesting prop-vortex ‘interference’ effects over the wings.