As final preparations continue for the first flight of the A400M military airlifter, Airbus Military has announced details of the highly experienced six-man crew that will conduct the operation from Seville, Spain.

As final preparations continue for the first flight of the A400M military airlifter, Airbus Military has announced details of the highly experienced six-man crew that will conduct the operation from Seville, Spain.

Chief Test Pilot Military, Edward “Ed” Strongman, who will be in the left-hand seat, will captain the aircraft supported by Experimental Test Pilot Ignacio “Nacho” Lombo in the right-hand seat.

Four engineers will also be on the aircraft, which will be heavily equipped with flight-test instrumentation monitoring its performance and systems throughout the flight.

They are Senior Flight Test Engineer Jean-Philippe Cottet who has responsibility for the powerplants; Senior Flight Test Engineer Eric Isorce; Senior Flight Test Engineer Didier Ronceray with responsibility for the handling qualities of the aircraft; and Test Flight Engineer Gerard Leskerpit.

Between them the multi-national crew has logged more than 31,000 total flight hours.

Since accepting the aircraft on 12 November, the Airbus Military test team has been working around the clock to prepare for the flight. The Europrop International TP400D turboprop engines have been run to full power and the aircraft has been extensively taxied.

The crew is now testing the aircraft at increasingly high speeds on the ground in a series of trials that will end with rejected take-offs at speeds of up to 120kt (220km/hr).

Over the next three years they, and additional crews, will conduct a planned 3,700 hours of flight tests from Seville and Toulouse as well as specialised locations all around the world.