Airbus Beluga: The super-sized, whale-like aircraft

Meet the Airbus Beluga, a cargo aircraft designed to carry extra large equipment. It also happens to look almost exactly like the beloved white Arctic whale.

Most airplanes have perfect cyclindrical bodies that has the same diameter from the end of the cockpit to the tail. A Beluga, however, has a humped body with a bigger diameter. Its cockpit also has a steeper ceiling and a curvede point.

“The top section of the aircraft was cut and an additional, wider fuselage section -- resembling a bubble -- was added to the airframe, giving it its characteristic hump,” an article from CNN explained.

“The cockpit was lowered, making it possible for the cargo hold to be loaded and unloaded through the front of the aircraft.”

Belugas are Airbus A300-600 jets whose exteriors have been modified to carry large cargo. A300-600 jets are mid-range aircraft that transport passengers. It has also “had a successful track record with airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France, and American Airlines,” according to CNN.

They are used to transport large, but not particularly heavy aircraft parts to Airbus production centers scattered all over the continent. Its cylindrical cargo compartment is 7.1 meters wide and 7.1 meters high, space large enough to "carry large helicopters with little or no strip-down/disassembly required." Its cargo deck is also 37.7 meters long.

Belugas have also occasionally transported satellites, helicopters, and works of art like Eugène Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People", a painting that was roughly three meters in length and width.

While many would love to see these planes flying over Philippine skies, the five Belugas owned by aircraft manufacturer Airbus only fly in Europe. — Kim Luces/VC, GMA News