LOADING DEVICE

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32130, 28 October 1969, Page 24

LOADING DEVICE

Plane Carries Own Gear Freight aircraft can work from airfields where no specialised cargo handling equipment is available by using a new device which is carried in the plane. The cargo loader, developed by a firm in Workingham, Southern England, was demonstrated recently to representatives of some of the world’s major airlines and air forces, including Qantas, 8.0.A.C., Pan American, the Royal Canadian and the United States Air Forces. The equipment consist basically of a pair of folding legs which are lowered to the ground from the aircraft and provide support for a loadcarrying elevator platform. This platform moves between the floor level of the aircraft and that of the loading or unloading vehicle and will take civil or military pallets with a laden weight of up to 10,0001 b. The loader is powered by the aircraft’s electrical system, but, in the event of a power failure, can be worked manually. It is controlled by means or a hand-held switch which can be used from inside the aircraft or from the ground. Slight modifications to the aircraft are necessary but the unit can be installed and quickly removed without the aid of special tools. So, far versions for the Boeing 707 and 727 have been built, but the makers say the equipment can be supplied for other types of aircraft.— British Information Service.