Dismounted wings, aircraft fuselages tightly tied down, back-up engines on separate pallets – these were the items, among other things, in the consignment flown from Budapest by the two 747-400s of Russian airline AirBridgeCargo to Kazan, the capital of Tartary, Russia. The latest event of the Red Bull Air Race was held in the historic city on the river Volga last weekend (22-23 July).
The aircraft participating in the Red Bull Air Race series are rather light: the wet weight of a Zivko Edge 540 racing plane is only 816kg, easily fitting on a large pallet. The technical equipment needed for the race, however, includes rather complex and valuable goods, which in itself justifies transportation by air. The nose of the AirBridge’s 747-400s can be opened, allowing the Red Bull aircraft without their wings to be conveniently lifted into the cargo compartment.
“The loading operation went surprisingly smoothly, Celebi Ground Handling staff really wrapped it up fast this time. As a result, it only took two days to move the complete ground and air equipment of the Red Bull Air Race from the Danube to the Volga,” says József Kossuth, Head of Cargo Development, Budapest Airport. He also pointed out that over the years several consignments of extraordinary value or dimensions have been successfully flown out of Budapest, including power station turbines produced by General Electric in Hungary that were carried to Algeria on board the Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 ‘Ruslan’ or the largest cargo aircraft, the AN-225 ‘Mriya’.
