Widebody cargo loading
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Join Date: Mar 2007
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Widebody cargo loading
Just curious: How is the cargo loading/C.G calculation is done on specialized cargo aircraft like the 747F, -400F or MD-11? Is it done "manually", I mean using laptops or purpose built handheld computers? Or have these aircraft got some onboard C.G system that senses/indicates the actual C.G?
Is the operation of the cargo handling/C.G. systems included in the AOM or in a separate "cargo master manual"?
Many thanks Midnight Riders ( I've always been impressed by your work)
b
Is the operation of the cargo handling/C.G. systems included in the AOM or in a separate "cargo master manual"?
Many thanks Midnight Riders ( I've always been impressed by your work)
b
Join Date: Jan 2008
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I used to make Loadsheets of them many years ago by hand and basic UNIX green screen computers, I donīt think it has changed that much since then. You just need to know position and weight of ULDīs, instruct the loadmaster on ground which postion you want for certain ULDīs and thatīs it, itīs not nuclear physics.
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The 744F has a built-in weight and balance computer that takes data from a sort of strain-gage scale on the five gear struts to come up with CG and weight. The system is very accurate. Of course, the company dispatcher figures this all out on a computer and you are handed a weight and balance sheet before you depart. One checks the two values to make sure they seem reasonable. It was company practice to use the dispatch numbers. I once had a 17 tonne (38,000 lb.) disagreement which came from a bad scale reading 450 kilos low on 34 pallets. The plane was smart! BTW, as I recall, 17 tonnes was only about 3 or 4 knots difference in the takeoff numbers, although the fuel burn would have been off on a long flight. Great airplane, we could upload about 250,000 lbs of payload across the Pacific.
USAF does it an handheld computer based on the load manifest and load plan from the Aerial Port. It is double-checked by the Captain and signed off. C-5 had some pretty simple "rule of thumb" to check the computations.
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Our 742's and 744's don't utilize the aircraft system for calculations. It's done on a lap-top using shipping information, with weighing done where necessary or applicable.
Weight and balance is calculated in the 747 the same way it's calculated in a Cessna 172. In our case, however, we only need enter the numbers in specific places in a dedicated computer program, to get the totals. It's a lot easier when shifting the load around or making changes, than to work it out by hand.
Weight and balance is calculated in the 747 the same way it's calculated in a Cessna 172. In our case, however, we only need enter the numbers in specific places in a dedicated computer program, to get the totals. It's a lot easier when shifting the load around or making changes, than to work it out by hand.
