The second A330 MRTT Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) for the UK Royal Air Force has successfully completed its maiden flight from the Airbus Military facility at Getafe, Madrid following its conversion.
Converted from a basic A330-200 by Airbus Military, the aircraft flew for exactly two hours in the evening of 26th October.
The crew reported that the aircraft, its systems, and two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines performed entirely satisfactorily.
The aircraft joins the first FSTA, which made its maiden flight on 16th September, in a flight-test programme which will lead to first delivery to the RAF towards the end of 2011.
Airbus Military has obtained military certification for the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport from Spanish military certification authority Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Aerospacial a(INTA) on 5th October. This paves the way to first delivery of the first two aircraft to first operator the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) before of the year.
