Airbus A340

Despite first flying in 1991, this year's static appearance by an Airbus A340 of the Executive Transport Wing of the German Air Force is an Air Tattoo debut for the type. Developed as a long-range wide-body passenger airliner to rival the Boeing 747 on routes where at the time it was not possible to fly twin-engine airliners due to Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards (ETOPS). The 2nd. Air Transport Squadron of the Extended Transport Wing operate a pair of A340s in a VIP configuration for transporting members of the Government on international business.

Photo Credit: Charles Cunliffe