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Airbus Military A400M development aircraft named Grizzly

Written by thomas · Filed Under Defense 

July 21, 2010

thomas

Airbus Military is formally adopting the name Grizzly for its five-strong development fleet of
A400M airlifters.
The new name is not the product of an expensive marketing study, nor something devised by
a team of branding experts, nor the result of months of debate among the sales team.
Instead it is the affectionate nickname given to the aircraft by the close-knit group of flight
test pilots and engineers who first saw it safely into the air.
When the first aircraft was handed over to the flight-test team in Seville, Spain in November
2009, it was formally known as MSN1 in the time-honoured aviation tradition of referring to
the manufacturer´s serial number. But, working at the remotely located flight-test centre at
the western end of the lengthy Airbus Military flightline at Seville, the team quickly began
hunting for a handier nickname.
The Flight Test Team seized on the resemblance between the mighty airlifter´s hunched
appearance and the muscular shoulders of the grizzly bear, and soon afterwards the aircraft
was already being referred to inside flight-test as “the Grizzly”. By the time of the first flight on
11th December, the name had stuck sufficiently firmly that it was adopted as the aircraft´s
radio callsign – Grizzly One.
Furthermore, a little-known fact is that the first flight also carried a party of non-human
passengers – teddy bears to raise funds for the EADS-sponsored charity Aviation Without
Borders – a nice reminder of the Grizzly’s future role in civic and humanitarian missions.
The name rapidly spread throughout Airbus Military and beyond, and at the ILA Berlin
airshow in June 2010 an informal Grizzly One logo appeared on MSN1 when it made its first
public airshow appearance. Yesterday the company announced that it was adopting the
name Grizzly for the five development aircraft to be used during the flight-test programme.
In a ceremony at Farnborough, MSN1´s sister-ship MSN2 was formally named Grizzly by
two-times World Aerobatic Champion Catherine Maunoury of France.
Airbus Military Managing Director Domingo Ureña said: “Our Grizzly and the grizzly bear
share a rare combination of speed, strength, and agility, so it is no surprise that they also
bear a resemblance to each other. We are proud to associate the A400M with one of
nature´s great creatures.”

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