Airplanes

Huge Airbus A400M does a full loop just after takeoff to the delight of viewers

  • A video showed an Airbus A400M performing a rare maneuver
  • It’s called a wingover
  • The stunt makes the plane look like it’s performing an aerial backflip

Published on Jul 19, 2024 at 3:47 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja

Last updated on Aug 05, 2024 at 6:45 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

It’s not every day you see an aircraft as huge as the Airbus A400M performing backflips while in the sky, but this one just did, and it’s an incredible ‘wingover.’

The A400M is a military cargo plane, but it’s much more than that because it can perform several moves that most other planes cannot.

This video shows it performing a full loop shortly after taking off from an airport, but it did that in style.

READ MORE: Wisconsin man built himself an airplane for $6,500 to save money

Airbus A400M performs a backflip

Enormous Airbus A400M Atlas executes dazzling beach landing
raf.mod.uk

Huge aircraft don’t often come with extreme maneuverability as a selling point, so you get why such maneuvers are rare.

The video, shared on YouTube by a channel called bosurgranny, showed an Airbus A400M taking off to clear the path for an Airbus A380 to land.

That’s two immensely large planes in one frame, and both have their own specialties.

If you’re an aviation enthusiast, you might already know how versatile the A400M actually is.

Even watching it simply fly is a majestic sight, and it’s certainly one of the most beautiful views in aviation history.

So, what’s special about this aerial backflip that this plane pulled off?

All about the maneuver

Airbus A400M aviation aerial footage
Wikimedia Commons

The maneuver is officially called a ‘wingover,’ in which an aircraft first makes a steep climb to gain high altitude.

Then, the pilot has to carefully bank the entire aircraft, tilting its wings to just one side.

Finally, the pilot completely reverses the aircraft’s initial trajectory, which appears oddly similar to a human performing a backflip.

It’s also like a car’s immediate U-turn but for planes.

You might have noticed something about the appearance of this Airbus A400M that makes it stand out.

It has four propellers on the front, and yes, propellers are a thing of the past — but not really.

The propellers — or turboprops — help in increasing the aircraft’s fuel efficiency while it’s traveling at low altitudes.

Apart from that, they also give it an appealing look.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

user

Siddharth is a tech nerd with a secret love of all things cars. He has been writing for a few years now, and on his free time you would find him gaming when he's not procrastinating.