Week on the web 12 March

On The DEW Line, Craig Hoyle gave his first impressions of flying on an Airbus Military A400M, after getting airborne in development aircraft "Grizzly 4" on 1 March. "The cargo hold is large and uncluttered, and the seating installed along its sides is both roomy and comfortable," he wrote. "The four-point passenger harness
is also considerably easier to use than
the more fiddly style familiar on the C-130... I didn't wear, or need, ear protection during our 1h sortie, and could hear the shouted instructions from the loadmaster from his position near the tail ramp prior to take-off, despite the fact that all four engines were running and I was sat just ahead of them. Acceleration and climb-out were swift, with plenty of engine response and, once up to height, noise levels were not unlike being onboard a turboprop airliner."