Aeroscopia (Airbus) Museum Toulouse

[kelvedon]

With an involuntary change of plan I find myself in the NH airport hotel in Toulouse this afternoon with a few hours to burn. I can’t go on an Airbus factory tour as non EU citizens must book 2 days in advance, but the Airbus museum is at the airport so here’s a whirlwind visit.



There is an inside and outside display with the inside hall dominated by a Super Guppy used to carry the aircraft assemblies between Toulouse, UK and Hamburg. These are now superseded by the even larger Airbus Beluga’s which you can see at the Airbus factory on the other side from the TLS passenger terminal. Even these older ones are huge inside.

 

[kelvedon]

There is an A300 displayed too, and the interior floor is partly cut away so you can see the cargo hold below with a freight container in situ.



….although the reflection made this difficult to see in the photo.




Further back they have recreated a Premium cabin with very beige 80’s style soft cushioning.

 

[kelvedon]

There are two Concordes on display, the inside one was the first prototype. You could go inside but I didn’t take any photos there, it was full of measuring equipment.

 

[kelvedon]

There were numerous other aircraft on show, mostly connected with the French aerospace companies.
Outside was another Concorde looking magnificent in its Air France livery.



Unfortunately it was closed…..

….as was the Caravelle



with its unusual shaped windows



And an A 400 M which I believe the RAAF has ordered.
So that concludes my quick tour, an interesting hour and 15 euros well spent.

 

[ausfox]

I attended the tour about 4 years ago. The commentary was not surprisingly in French at times lasting several minutes. The English language version was offhand and brief. However it was enormously interesting in particular the mock-up of the test centre for the 380 complete with video of test sequences.
The wet weather testing images were a great lesson in aerodynamics and how the lift is destroyed on touchdown.

 

[kelvedon]

Oh, and for those ex RAAF members, there was a Mirage 3

 

[SYD]

Went there a couple of years ago while A380s were still in production so we did the factory tour as well.

There was this whole Tin Tin thing on throughout the museum - including in the Concorde! (Note the tiny windows)

 

[Mattg]

I visited a few years ago and enjoyed it. Also did the A380 and A350 assembly line tours (I must have booked those in advance), and recall that the latter was only available in French. My friend translated for me and a bunch of other people who booked that without any knowledge of French as it was the only A350 tour offered.

I did the A380 tour a few months before the last ever A380 was built - all the A380s on the assembly line were going to Emirates.

The Airbus factory tours were admittedly not as well done as the Boeing tours in the USA.

 

[SYD]

I visited a few years ago and enjoyed it. Also did the A380 and A350 assembly line tours (I must have booked those in advance), and recall that the latter was only available in French. My friend translated for me and a bunch of other people who booked that without any knowledge of French as it was the only A350 tour offered.

I did the A380 tour a few months before the last ever A380 was built - all the A380s on the assembly line were going to Emirates.

The Airbus factory tours were admittedly not as well done as the Boeing tours in the USA.

Yeah, an even bigger aviation buff pre-booked ours months out - pretty sure it was partly in English.

I think I won the prize for most number of different A380 airlines flown on!

 

[jb747]

View attachment 292344

And an A 400 M which I believe the RAAF has ordered.

They haven't....the RAF operate them though.

 

[SYD]

They haven't....the RAF operate them though.

Yes, ended up with some C27Js instead.

 

[Scarlett]

We’re heading to Toulouse in April and will definitely head to the museum for a few hours. I see there’s a tram stop nearby but also some parking on site. (we’ll have a hire car)

I’ve read online reports that the factory tour (Manatour - Let’s Visit Airbus) is quite poor as it is effectively a ‘windshield’ tour from a bus, with only a brief stop in one of the manufacturing buildings where again, visitors are briefed in a high room set away from the floor and with only a small observation window. (modern security and whs rules being followed no doubt)