Cargo aircraft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cargo aircraft is an airplane designed and used for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. This role demands a number of features that makes a cargo aircraft instantly identifiable; a "fat" looking fuselage, a high-wing to allow the cargo area to sit near the ground, a large number of wheels to allow it to land at unprepared locations, and a high-mounted tail to allow cargo to be driven directly into and off the aircraft. The cargo class should be compared to the freight aircraft, which is a conversion of an existing passenger design, which lacks most of these "custom" features.
Aircraft were put to use carrying cargo in the form of air mail as early as 1911. Although the earliest aircraft were not designed primarily as cargo carriers, by the mid 1920's airplane manufacturers were designing and building dedicated cargo aircraft.
The earliest "true" cargo aircraft is arguably the World War II German design, the Arado Ar 232. The Ar 232 was intended to supplant the earlier Junkers Ju 52 freighter conversions, but only small numbers were built. Most other forces used freighters in the cargo role as well, most notably the Douglas DC-3, which served with practically every allied nation.
In the immediate post-war era a number of new custom-built cargo aircraft were introduced, often including some "experimental" features. For instance, the US's C-82 Packet featured a removable cargo area, while the C-123 Provider introduced the now-common upswept tail. But it was the introduction of the turboprop that allowed the class to mature, and even one of its earliest examples, the C-130 Hercules, is still the yardstick against which newer designs are measured.
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[edit] Freight
Freight aircraft, commonly referred to as freighters, are airliners designed or converted for cargo hauling. They are devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo.
Most conversions are carried out on older aircraft no longer suitable for passenger use, often due to changing safety or noise requirements, but there is also a market for new-build freighter designs. Note that the class is distinct from the related cargo aircraft, which are typically designed strictly for cargo.
The Boeing 747 can be ordered in a freighter version with a large nose door which could be raised above the cockpit for loading. The bulged top deck housing the cockpit was originally designed to allow an unobstructed main deck, and to keep cargo from crushing the pilots in the case of an accident. The interior size of the fuselage is matched to the size of a standard cargo container, stacked two high and two wide.
Other types of specialized civilian cargo aircraft configurations, include the swing-tail CL-44 and Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter, and the clamshell tail CASA CN-235.
The freight door and belly pod equipped Cessna Caravan, and the twin tailed / vertical stabilizer and simple drop ramp configured Shorts 330, are a couple examples of modern none pressurized freighters.
Freighters may be operated by civil passenger or cargo airlines, by private individuals or by the armed forces of individual countries. They are often adapted from aircraft originally designed for passenger use, perhaps when the aircraft type is considered to have become uncompetitive in passenger airline service. Most air freight is however carried in special ULD containers in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft.
Freighter aircraft normally have strengthened cabin floors and the inclusion of a broad top-hinged door on the port fuselage in addition to an absence of passenger cabin windows which are "plugged."
[edit] Early Airmail Aircraft
[edit] Civilian Cargo/Freight Aircraft
- Aero Spacelines Super Guppy
- Airbus A320 (Conversions)
- Airbus A300
- Airbus A310
- Airbus A330
- Airbus A380F
- Antonov An-225 Mriya
- Antonov Antonov An-124
- Boeing 727
- Boeing 737 (Conversions)
- Boeing 757
- Boeing 767
- Boeing 747 Freighter
- Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter (Dreamlifter)
- Boeing 777 Freighter
- Boeing MD-10 (Exclusively for FedEx)
- Douglas DC-3
- Douglas DC-9
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10
- McDonnell Douglas MD-11
- Short Belfast
[edit] Military Cargo Aircraft
- Airbus A400M
- Antonov An-12
- Antonov An-72
- Antonov An-124 'Ruslan'
- Ilyushin Il-76
- Ford C-3 & C-9 Trimotor
- Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy
- Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
- Curtiss C-46 Commando
- Douglas C-47 Dakota
- Douglas C-54 Skymaster
- Lockheed C-69 & C-121 Constellation
- Douglas C-74 Globemaster
- Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express
- Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
- Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
- Fairchild C-123 Provider
- Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
- Lockheed C-130 Hercules
- Douglas C-133 Cargomaster
- Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
- Kawasaki Kawasaki C-1
- Transport Allianz Transall C-160
V-22 Osprey Transport/Attack Helicopter
[edit] Experimental Cargo Aircraft
- Hughes H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose")
- Lockheed R6V Constitution
- LTV XC-142
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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