Flightglobal:

Airbus has today carried out the first flight of the EuroProp International TP400 powerplant for the A400M military transport, a test lasting 1hr 15min. A......

Author: David Kaminski-Morrow

Date: 17 December 2008

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Why don't they fly it straigt down to good weather areas in Spain, like Sevilla if there is good weather during the route all the way down so they can test every day?

Waiting for good weather to continue testing in wintry and rainy England is a waist of money as you have so much assembled and spend so much money.

Get the envellope covered as quick as possible to have MTU input the nedded data into the TP400 FADEC's and then start flying the reprogrammed A400M's that are ready to go.

If this first flight is not be followed by an every day flight test, the weather has nothing to do with this, they have now to carry out some amount of checks to insure the good healt and safety of the engine and the modified aircraft. And this can be done in Cambridge what ever the weather condition are.

Moreover, go over the ocean for a first flight would have been too risky and would have needed to flight much more than 1 hour. 

Up to now, the weather has never been the reason for delays and slow progress on flight test program.

The aircraft is an old example of C-130 but with relatively low hours. The guys have faced problems integrating the engine.

Heat is always an issue; then again, aero system design and analysis is not always for the "know it all" young shots.

Rush it in; get nailed after as they say!

It's good is flying, as a joke, MA named it "the flying death bed"  :-P!