Is B737-300F a reliable cargo aircraft?

[Spanner748]

Would appreciate some experienced answers!

[The AvgasDinosaur]

72 conversions have been made of which 66 are active, 5 stored and 1 has crashed.
Sounds O.K. to me.
Be lucky
David

[TheWanderer]

It is as reliable as the passenger aircraft.

Make sure there is a water protection canvas cover in the e&e compartment. When loading and unloading in rainy conditions, a lot of water may get onto the main deck through the open main cargo door and then finds its way to the e&e compartment.

For ferry flights without cargo, some ballast is required.

[Acid-drop]

TNT has 10 of them

[727gm]

After loading, if the K-loader driver is looking where he wants to go, rather than where his "ass-end" IS, he will very easily contact No. 1 Engine nacelle, and the aircraft will be down for MX.

This was not a problem on B-727 or DC-8.

[oceancrosser]

Yes, the B737-300F is a cost effective short haul freighter. Low acquisition cost + low operating cost. But there are different mods out there, take a good look at what is being offered. Agree with the rain vs. E&E issues. Been a fairly long time since I flew it.

[Spanner748]

Thanks a lot guys. Awaiting more practical answers to payload, fuel burn, range and economical cruise altitude. Can it fly 1500nm with 18t?

[TheWanderer]

18t is about the maximum the airplane can carry with a max ZWF of 48.307 kg.

DOW of a B737-300 is around 31 t (a little less) , with a load of 18 t, ZWF will be 49 t.
1.500 NM trip in still air is around 3:40 hrs @ 280/.74, tripfuel @ 9,5 t.
Add min 2 t alternate & holding fuel, so the trip requires around 11,5 t fuel min.
TOW will be around 60,5 t, LW around 51 t.

So, basically yes, a trip of 1.500 NM with 18 t load should be possible but you have to have a more detailed look into the exact weights as this trip is operating at the max ZFW of a B737-300. I have used only rounded numbers above.

If you really need this weight of load, have a look into the B737-400F.
Most of the time, weight is not the problem but the volume of the cargo.

There are different certified versions in respect to weights of the B737-300F available, the standard max certified LW of a -300 is 51,7 t but there are also versions with 52,8 t max certified LW available.

[DownIn3Green]

No. Get a B-727.

[Spanner748]

Wanderer, thanks for the insight. Appreciate!

[Spanner748]

Anybody with specific details on B727-200F operations? To begin with like fuel consumption per hour, max payload and max range? And operating cost per hour?

[Spanner748]

Hi there,
Appreciate if you could detail on operational characteristics of B727-200F e.g. fuel consumptions, max payload and max range. And actually in what way this aircraft is more economical than B737-300F?

[JW411]

Is the B737F always reliable? Not always, they are not getting any younger but they are still pretty good.

Are you thinking about operating from Khatmandu? Do you have serious noise regulations there or anywhere else on your proposed network nowadays?

If not, get a really good B727F.

[MarkerInbound]

There are so variables for 727 freighters it's hard to give numbers. Some have takeoff weights over 200,000 pounds but you'll be hard pressed to put more than 50,000 pounds of payload in one unless you're carrying bricks. And I can think of 5 different dash number engines which will make a difference. Round numbers 10,000 pounds fuel flow the first hour, 9,000 hours 2 and 3 and 8 the fourth hour for average weights. If you're up pushing 200,000 pounds, add 1000 to all the above.

The only way I could say a 727-200 is cheaper than a 737-300 is initial cost. After that you will pay more but you get more performance

[Spanner748]

No, we are planning to operate out of Dhaka. Planned sectors and Guilin (KWL) and Guangzhou (CAN) in China.

[Spanner748]

Marker, Thanks a lot for the info. Appreciate it.