Watch All of Airbus’ Planes Fly in Formation to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary
Formation flying is usually done by a few military jets, or, on special occasions, a couple widebody airliners, like South African Airways did last week. This time, to celebrate the aerospace giant's 50th anniversary, Airbus flew passenger, military and cargo jets in formation in spectacular fashion.
The video is short, and with a dense cloud layer below, it's difficult to fathom the scale of the undertaking, but Airbus pilots impressively flew aircraft from each of the manufacturer's "in-production commercial jetliner families" alongside France's Patrouille de France aerobatic demonstration team. This includes the A320 neo, A330 neo, A350, A380, A220 and even the A330-derived aircraft transporter to-be, the Beluga XL.
The gigantic scale of these airliners is hard to comprehend, and looks otherwise photoshopped. Rest assured, it's not.
If you're looking for more, head over the Airbus website. To celebrate the historic 50-year milestone, Airbus has been releasing photos and videos, and plans to continue doing so for the next week. You can also read our article tracing the history of the company in photos, highlighting its wild (and unexpected) rise to a global aerospace manufacturer. We'd recommend throwing on your AvGeek hat and diving in.