Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Aircrew Forums > Freight Dogs
Reload this Page >

Cargo loading for 747 freighter fans

Wikiposts
Search
Freight Dogs Finally a forum for those midnight prowler types who utilise the unglamorous parts of airports that many of us never get to see. Freight Dogs is for pilots and crew who operate mostly without SLF.

Cargo loading for 747 freighter fans

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 27th Nov 2015, 22:51
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: nowhere
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Cargo loading for 747 freighter fans

And we are all 747 fans aren't we?

Created for Iraqi Airways way back when was a 747-200C with self-loading capability.

The lifting unit is carried in zone A and can be moved out of the aircraft via the nose for loading from the front or detached for loading at the side.

Takes 30 minutes to deploy or stow, weighs 6.6 tons, can handle a 13.6 ton payload, and is powered either by the aircraft or a GPU.

Interesante foto-reportaje del proceso de Carga/Descarga de un 747 de IA / IAW Iraquí Airways.
JammedStab is offline  
Old 29th Nov 2015, 09:03
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Scotland
Age: 80
Posts: 451
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I worked with 747s from 1977 until I retired in 2010 and this is the first time that I have seen this equipment. I suspect this was connected to the fact that the 747 was designed initially for a military contract.I doubt if it was ever used in anger as no company would want to fly around with a 6.5 ton penalty. I would appreciate any further info on this if anyone has any.
bcgallacher is offline  
Old 29th Nov 2015, 12:36
  #3 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Near Here
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Back in the day as an aviation hack I flew to Baghdad to
interview Iraqi Airways, but they immediately clammed
up when mention was made of this particular hybrid and
of course refused any photos. Got back home, phoned
Boeing and asked if they had photos of self-loading
equipment for B747F freighters. Yes, there was one customer
out there who had ordered such.

It was my proud pleasure to mail a copy of next issue of the
magazine to Iraq with the said aircraft on the front cover and
the tag line -Iraqi Airways opens its big mouth.
soycowboy is offline  
Old 29th Nov 2015, 12:59
  #4 (permalink)  

SkyGod
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Palm Coast, Florida, USA
Age: 67
Posts: 1,542
Likes: 0
Received 10 Likes on 1 Post
Never seen that before, flown 747 freighters for 3 different airlines.
Thx for posting.
TowerDog is offline  
Old 29th Nov 2015, 13:10
  #5 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 560
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
An interesting concept that appears to work! Presumably could have been used on any of the three 200 series that Iraqi used to operate.
Newforest2 is offline  
Old 29th Nov 2015, 21:23
  #6 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 68
Posts: 4,407
Received 180 Likes on 88 Posts
I vaguely remember hearing about this bit of self-loading kit for the 747F. What I didn't realize is that Boeing built 747 Combi's with the nose door.
tdracer is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2015, 01:48
  #7 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: nowhere
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by tdracer
I vaguely remember hearing about this bit of self-loading kit for the 747F. What I didn't realize is that Boeing built 747 Combi's with the nose door.
Actually, it is a 747-200C, that is......a convertible version that can be all pax or all freight. How can you tell the difference between a convertible and an all pax(or combi) machine from a bit of a distance with all doors closed? Simple, the convertible has 86 side windows instead of 88.

But before you start counting, wait. Take a look at the Iraqi 747 in the background. It is a convertible as well. You can tell because it has two side windows missing at the location where the nose cargo door opens.

So I think that this is in the all freight configuration. Otherwise, there would be cargo at the front, pax in the middle, and cargo in the back.

65 knot door fully open max wind limit sure seems like a lot.
JammedStab is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2015, 08:01
  #8 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Malaysia
Posts: 157
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
I seem to remember that in the early days of 747 ops something similar was available for the all pax aircraft.

Basically a smaller scale unit which occupied a door-side position on the lower deck. You would use a forklift to get it out and what you had was an elevator to bring the ULDs down to ground level and vice versa.

Remember back in the day a lot of airports did not have ULD handling capability as most of the planes were narrowbodies.

Anil
Anilv is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2015, 09:14
  #9 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: earth
Posts: 1,341
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Interesting as I recently learned the 747 was originally designed for the USAF as a freighter. The military applications of this load system seem very logical to outweigh the practicality of it back in that time. Juan Trippe may have mothballed the initial intent for the aircraft with Pan Am money yet one customer in later years had Boeing pull this old design plan out. Just speculation.
grounded27 is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2015, 10:19
  #10 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Manchester
Age: 45
Posts: 615
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Does it lock/unlock the pallets as well? If so that's pretty smart stuff.
Ex Cargo Clown is offline  
Old 30th Nov 2015, 12:42
  #11 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Village of Santo Poco
Posts: 869
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I remember reading about this waaaaaay back, but this is the first I see a pic of that contraption.
Amadis of Gaul is offline  
Old 7th Dec 2015, 19:13
  #12 (permalink)  
742
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Interesting as I recently learned the 747 was originally designed for the USAF as a freighter. The military applications of this load system seem very logical to outweigh the practicality of it back in that time. Juan Trippe may have mothballed the initial intent for the aircraft with Pan Am money yet one customer in later years had Boeing pull this old design plan out. Just speculation.
This is an often repeated fact, but it is a bit off. Boeing competed against Lockheed for the CX-HLS contract, which Lockheed won with the C-5.

The Boeing airplane looked like a C-5 with a conventional tail. If you google "Boeing CX-HLS" you will find plenty of drawings and models.

The 747 took technology, but not the airframe itself, from Boeing's CX work.

Later Boeing did shop the 747-400F to the USAF as the "C-33", which confuses the issue. But when metal was cut for the first 747 it was a 100% civilian airframe.
742 is offline  
Old 8th Dec 2015, 08:57
  #13 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: earth
Posts: 1,341
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the share 742, once again another surprise in aircraft development
.
grounded27 is offline  
Old 8th Dec 2015, 14:32
  #14 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 68
Posts: 4,407
Received 180 Likes on 88 Posts
While the first 747s were designed as passenger aircraft, the design was always provisioned for the freighter version (which was the main driver for the upper deck flight deck).
A primary reason for that was, at the time the original 747 was being developed, SSTs were also being developed and were expected to be in common service by the mid 1970s. The thinking was that the SSTs would quickly make subsonic aircraft obsolete for long distance passenger service - so the 747 was designed to be readily converted to a freighter.

Of course we all know how that turned out
tdracer is offline  
Old 8th Dec 2015, 19:39
  #15 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 142
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
From Boeing

Boeing CX-HLS Model at Boeing Corporate Archives - 1963/64

In 1963, the United States Air Force started a series of study projects on a very large strategic transport aircraft. Although the C-141 Starlifter was being introduced, they felt that a much larger and more capable aircraft was needed, especially the capability to carry outsized cargo that would not fit in any existing aircraft. These studies led to initial requirements for the CX-Heavy Logistics System (CX-HLS) in March 1964 for an aircraft with a load capacity of 180,000 pounds (81,600 kg) and a speed of Mach 0.75 (500 mph/805 km/h), and an unrefueled range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) with a payload of 115,000 pounds (52,200 kg). The payload bay had to be 17 feet (5.18 m) wide by 13.5 feet (4.11 m) high and 100 feet (30.5 m) long with access through doors at the front and rear.

Featuring only four engines, the design also required new engine designs with greatly increased power and better fuel economy. On May 18, 1964, airframe proposals arrived from Boeing, Douglas, General Dynamics, Lockheed and Martin Marietta; while engine proposals were submitted by General Electric, Curtiss-Wright, and Pratt & Whitney. After a downselect, Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed were given additional study contracts for the airframe, along with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney for the engines.

All three of the airframe proposals shared a number of features. As the CX-HLS needed to be able to be loaded from the front, a door had to be included where the cockpit usually was. All of the companies solved this problem by moving the cockpit to above the cargo area; Douglas had a small "pod" just forward and above the wing, Lockheed used a long "spine" running the length of the aircraft with the wing spar passing through it, while Boeing blended the two, with a longer pod that ran from just behind the nose to just behind the wing. In 1965 Lockheed's aircraft design and General Electric's engine design were selected for the new C-5 Galaxy transport, which was the largest military aircraft in the world at the time. The nose door and raised cockpit concepts would be carried over to the design of the 747
mustangsally is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.