747-400 Special Freighter
 

IAI's Bedek Aviation Group Announces Boeing 747-400 SF Passenger to Cargo Conversion Program
Sep 23, 2003

First Delivery Scheduled for Second Quarter 2005
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)'s Bedek Aviation Group has announced that it will be proceeding with a cargo conversion program for Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

The decision to proceed with this program was reached after an extensive Bedek study was completed on the market potential for converting Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft into freighters.

Potential customers and the financial community were briefed on the various configuration options for a Boeing 747-400SF (Special Freighter) aircraft. The positive reaction from the customers and financial community to the Bedek preliminary designs prompted IAI and Bedek management to proceed with the program.

Based on current estimates, Bedek is confident that the first delivery of a reconfigured aircraft can take place in the second quarter of 2005.

Converting the Boeing 747-400 into a Special Freighter will incorporate the following elements:

- Installation of side cargo door at the aft of the main deck
- Reinforcement of Cargo Floor
- 30 plus main deck container or pallet positions
- Fully powered cargo handling system
- 20-foot container capabilities
- Increased cargo height (10 feet) capability
- Upper deck occupancy reconfiguration
- Systems and interior modification into freighter configuration
- Fully lined main deck cargo compartment

David Arzi, IAI Corporate Vice President and Bedek General Manager said: "The realities facing the airline industry today have created a scenario that makes for economic sense to convert existing Boeing 747-400 aircraft into special freighter aircraft. Because of the drop in prices for available 747-400 aircraft, a complete acquisition and conversion program can be accomplished for approximately $54 to $58 million."


Anybody know who their launch customer is yet? Supposedly it is a US based carrier. Me thinks maybe United.

:cool:

Me thinks Northwest.

Also a parallel operation from TAECO in Xiamen converting CX 744s to SFs.

Dan Winterland,

Are they converting them right now? I wasn't aware that anyone had an STC yet. What does "CX" mean? Are you saying CargoLux?

:)

CV is Cargolux. We're looking at them, though they have quite a few disadvantages compared to the pure -F that we have.

-Lower MZFW/MTOW due to different wing strength
-No Nose Cargo Door.
-Aircon system needs to be looked at.

On the other hand, they're relatively cheap. Bean counters will have to see if its worth it.

CX is Cathay Pacific

Hmmmm. I was aware that Cathay is interested in the 744SF, but the OEM conversion is still in PD. As far as I know, IAI has the only launched active program.

CR2

My understanding is that the SF will have the same MTOW as the standard F (875,000lb) and a MZFW of at least 600,000lb and, possibly, 610,000lb (Boeing-designed conversion). Assuming a reasonable fuel load is required, I would have thought that it will make a pretty good alternative to the F - even without the nose door?

The OEM version will be 870k MTOW and you lose the tail tank.

Forgive my ignorance but I thought you needed the tail tank to get above 860,000lb for sure on the pax version due to cg reasons so why does it get dropped for the SF?

I will check on the 860k requirement. FYI - MZFW will be 610k

Fair comment torquelink, I am very biased towards the NCD. Just depends what kind of freight market you are in.
This aircraft would be useless out of IAH for example - all heavy offsize oil drilling equipment. On the other hand, would do fine for loads out of HKG or PVG.
As I mentioned before, Anyone got a clue on projected empty weight? The pure -F is 349K-350K

rgds

Thanks 747FOCAL. Confirmation on MTOW / tail tank would be appreciated.

CR2 - I take your point: horses for courses. So where would you put the A380F capabilities in all of this - no nose door and without the maindeck height of the 747 but otherwise fully ULD compatible?

A380F :yuk:

:} :} :}

Weighs too much, only carries 20T more than the 400F. Can't even carry its own engine...

Excellent package carrier (UPS/FedEx etc) type loads.

Conversions in general
 

In the cosy idealistic world of the bean counter, conversions have fantastic appeal. In the real world, however, it all ends in tears and lots of finger pointing.
When an airframe, which is designed to a specific requirement to do a specific function, undergoes major surgery to make it do something else, the in service dispatch reliability becomes poor. The mechanical wet-nursing that they require is very costly.
Converted aircraft are seldom as capable after conversion as they were when they first rolled off the assembly line.

CR2
Not sure why you think this is such a desireable ability. I take it you're talking about fifth pod. I have only ever done it once on B74F. Generally speaking (and the ETOPS folks will support this) engines are so reliable nower days that a fifth pod requirement becomes obsolete. I'm sure that the A380 team have looked at this.

If I were in the market for a long haul freighter with wide bodied capacity I doubt whether I'd go for a B744F especially an SF. The capacity is too big and puts you at the perils of the consolidators. I think a better bet would be an A330F made pureley for the job.
FEBA

Flight International reporting that launch customers are GECAS with two ex-Air Canada Combis and Lombard Aviation Capital with an ex-SQ pax aircraft. Doesn't say if they have end users.

FEBA,

How can installing a side door and baggage loading system make a plane more inclined to dispatch problems? These types of conversions have been occuring for years. For sure by now the bean counters would have caught onto this and would be only willing to by pure born aircraft. :E

OR MAYBE AIRBUS IS AFRAID THAT AN OPERATOR COULD BUY 3-4 OF THESE CONVERTED AIRCRAFT FOR THE PRICE OF ONE? COULD IT BE THAT THE 744SF WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOUSY A380 SALES FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS? :E :E :ouch:

FEBA, maybe should have expressed myself better. I mean that an A380 engine wont fit through an A380 cargo door. Need a 74F for that :} :} :}

hello ,

i agree with your analyze on 744F but the 744SF will not appear with ba noze door ???

maybe the ERF is the solution ???

see you

phil

think whole idea is a 200 f type with a 400f economics but a 14 plus yr old a/c re vamped for 50m.. dont see many takers except those package types with ageing 100-200srs- another dc8 73
me thinks

acmi48,

Not sure I got what you meant???

:)

Slightly more Special F
 

Not as 'special' as the 747 Guppy concept in this week's Flight International proposed to move 7E7 assemblies.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine..._boeing14.html

This article in Payload Asia about SQ seems to indicate there will be a large market for converted B-747's.

http://www.payloadasia.com/Magazine/mag_frame.htm

Good article. Horses for courses I guess; as has been mentioned previously, you get 3-4 SF's for 1 new -F. That's a quality in itself, since I guess you get a D-check thrown in during the conversion process.

If you are not serving a market that requires an NCD, great. Otherwise, oops.
We got an inquiry to fly a 36 meter long mast today. We can do it, no probs. Last night we flew 20m long pipes, 19 tons. No problem.

edit/spelling

so all this assumes there will no second hand 400f on the market
.. need to see the value of one of these before the economics of a 400sf

Talking of second hand -400Fs, who got the Singapore Airlines one? Did it end up with Volga Dnepr?

BA & CX NEGOTIATIONS
 

Cargofacts bulletin from last Friday reports CX & BA in advanced negotiations ref purchase of BA B744 to convert to first P-F B747-400F.

acmi

No doubt, in an open market, a second hand F would be snapped up before the potential buyer committed to an SF conversion unless, of course, he already had surplus pax aircraft that he couldn't otherwise sell. But likelihood is that there'll be enough demand to go round - Boeing cargo forecast suggests that 497 converted large (MD11 and up) freighters needed over next 20 years and I see that IAI reckon that they'll convert some 250 units themselves leaving aside what Boeing might do.

From a press release today

Non sched



Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, one of Asia's larger carriers, said on Friday it would purchase up to 15 second-hand Boeing 747-400 aircraft in anticipation of future business growth.

"Some of the planes will be converted to [cargo] freighters and some will be converted into the Cathay passenger format," a Cathay spokeswoman said on Friday.

She did not say how much Cathay would pay for the aircraft or identify who was selling them.

The airline said that while yields have improved and business is returning to pre-SARS levels it could not yet predict which segment of the business would be stronger.

Cathay has a fleet of 83 aircraft, 11 of which are freighters. It also has three more passenger aircraft on order which are due for delivery this year and next.

"They are being opportunistic because the pricing for second hand aircraft is very attractive right now," said Philip Wickham airline analyst at ING Financial Markets.

Wickham said Cathay needs to add some aircraft as it hasn't embarked on a major fleet expansion for the past six years.

;)