Summary Cargo aircraft have also helped in the transportation of space shuttles. Cargo aircraft have special containers called airstables for animal transport. Cargo aircraft have fewer windows for structural integrity and increased cargo capacity.
Recently, Emirates placed an order of nearly a billion dollars for freighter aircraft before the Farnborough Air Show 2024 . Some figures show that freighter flights might make up 37% of the ATK (available tonne-kilometer). Aircraft that are used for freighter flights have some unique capabilities that aren’t typically associated with passenger or general aviation aircraft.
Let’s take a look at five facts about cargo aircraft you might not know. Air Cargo handled by the top 20 airports has been decreasing by 3.2% year on year.
1 Some large cargo aircraft were designed to carry space shuttle Cargo aircraft have been used for NASA's missions There have been various aircraft that have been designed to carry a massive payload. These include the likes of: Cargo Aircraft Payload Capacity Airbus A300-600ST Super Transporter aka Airbus Beluga 47 tons Antonov An-225 250 tonnes Aero Spacelines Super Guppy 24 tonnes Lockheed C-5 Galaxy 127 tons Two of the names in the table stand out. One of the Supper Guppy, which, according to AeroTime , was famous for: “its crucial role in the Apollo program and became the first and only plane in the world to fly Apollo IV rockets and other components in 1965.
The Super Guppy was also widely used for flying spaceship components for NASA’s space missions. Most recently, in November 2019, the Super Guppy was involved in transportation on the Orion spacecraft from Mansfield Lahm Airport (MFD) in the United States.” Similarly, the Antonov An-225, which holds numerous Guinness World Records, was also intended to operate flights for the Soviet Space Program.
A photograph of the An-225 carrying a space shuttle, Buran, on its back is one of the iconic images in the aviation community. 2 But there are different categories of cargo aircraft Some passenger aircraft have been converted to freighter One might feel that all cargo aircraft fall into the same category, but that’s not really true. There are three different types of cargo aircraft.
Cargo Aircraft Only (CAO) These are aircraft that are designed purely for carrying cargo. An example of this type of cargo aircraft would be the Boeing 747-400 ERF . The aircraft has a capacity of 112 tons of cargo, and a range of 9,200km with a maximum payload.
Mixed Cargo AIrcraft This is the second category of cargo aircraft and different from a CAO, as they can be used as a passenger aircraft and carry cargo simultaneously. An example of this category of cargo aircraft is the Boeing 777-200, which has a capacity of 18 tons and can transport six pallets. Super transporters The third category of cargo aircraft is super transporters, such as the ones we discussed previously.
Airbus Beluga is one of the most well-known super transporters, as its design, which mimics a whale, gives it a unique spin. The aircraft was designed to carry parts manufactured in various Airbus manufacturing facilities and bring these parts together for assembly. 3 Cargo aircraft have special containers called airstables These containers are necessary for animal transport FedEx and UPS - two giants in the freighter business - have a rich collection of cargo aircraft.
The Boeing 747 is among the larger aircraft these two cargo companies use. The Boeing 747, which when configured as a freighter, is commodious for approximately 26,000 cubic feet (736 cubic meters) of cargo. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to the payload capacity of five semi-trucks.
On the main level, a cargo aircraft of the dimensions of the Boeing 747-400 can have 30 pallets of good. The following tables gives us a sense of the dimensions of the pallets: length 96 inches (2.4 m) breadth 125 inches (3.
2 m) height 120 inches (3.05 m) If the cargo aircraft has to shift animals, for example, horses or livestock, there are special containers called airstables. These containers connect to pallets, and come in various shapes and sizes.
There are five basic types of airstables (depending upon the purpose), reports intoneair.com : Airstable Rigid – fully enclosed. Airstable Droptop – roof lowers for belly positioning.
Airstable Fully Collapsible – 3 or 4 can be stacked for economical positioning. Charter stall wide-bodied – fully collapsible light weight and generally used on wide-bodied charters. Charter stall narrow bodied – generally used on B737 / B757 / A310 / AN12 charters 4 Cargo aircraft typically have fewer windows than passenger planes There's no need for an outside view, as there are no passengers Most cargo aircraft, especially ones designed as CAOs don’t have a limited number of windows.
CAOs typically have windows outside or right behind the cockpit. Apart from these, the CAOs are typically windowless, as can be exemplified by pictures of the An-225, among other cargo aircraft. According to the analysis done by Alexander Mitchell , a journalist for Simple Flying, the window-less freighter aircraft have quite a few advantages: “ It may seem counterintuitive for manufacturers to want a completely different assembly process for the fuselages of their cargo aircraft, but removing windows provides a few key advantages.
For starters, this design choice significantly improves the structural integrity of an aircraft as the aluminum or carbon composite of the fuselage is far stronger than the glass used for windows...
” When passenger airliners are converted to cargo aircraft , windows are removed as: The windows are replaced with materials having greater structural integrity. Higher structural integrity allows cargo jets to accommodate significantly more freight. 5 The longest cargo aircraft route is over 8,000 miles long A journey nearing close to 18 hours Emirates , the largest operator of the Airbus A380, operates the longest cargo aircraft route in the world.
This service between Dubai, UAE, and Panama City, Panama spans 8,588 miles (13,821 kilometers). Emirates started this 17-hour and 35-minute service in February 2016. However, this isn’t primarily a cargo flight.
Despite being a passenger aircraft, the plane can accommodate 15 tonnes of cargo. When the route was announced, it was the world’s longest flight of its time crossing nine time zones. Emirates decided to carry out these flights on a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft in a 3-class layout: First-class: 8 Business-Class: 42 Economy-Class: 216 On this occasion, Emirates announced : “The aircraft can carry up to 15 tonnes of cargo.
Key imports to the country include pharmaceuticals, machinery products, iron/steel rods, and electronics. Service to Panama City will operate through Tocumen International Airport (PTY)..
Panama City is also the economic and financial center of the country with the major industries being international banking, commerce, and tourism.”.
