Outsize and heavy air cargo

Door aperture decides the shortlist

Cargo enters through a fixed opening. If the piece does not pass the door in any orientation the aircraft is out, whatever the payload figure says. Side cargo doors on widebody freighters take the widest boxes, while nose loading aircraft accept long items that no side door can swallow.

Measure the piece on the cradle it will fly on, including protruding brackets, lifting eyes and packaging. Operators plan against the shipping dimension, not the nameplate dimension of the machine.

Floor loading: running load and point load

A main deck floor has two limits. Running load is the mass per metre along the aircraft axis, and point load is the pressure a single contact area applies. A compact heavy piece can fail both while sitting far below the payload ceiling.

The remedy is a spreader system. Steel beams, timber cribbing and shoring plates enlarge the contact area and distribute mass along more floor. Cradle design belongs in the planning phase because it changes both the shipping dimension and the tare weight.

Running load

Mass per metre along the fuselage. Long cradles are the usual answer.

Point load

Pressure at each contact patch. Solved with spreader plates and cribbing.

Tie down

Restraint calculated in g forces for each axis and recorded on the load plan.

Centre of gravity

Marked on the piece so the loadmaster can place it against the trim envelope.

Ground equipment is part of the aircraft choice

A freighter that can carry the piece is useless at a station without a loader rated for the weight. Main deck loaders have a capacity limit per platform, and outsize work often needs a crane, a ramp aircraft or a self propelled trailer instead.

The desk checks both airports before it names a type. Where the origin cannot handle main deck loading, the mission moves to a nearby cargo station and a heavy haulage road leg is planned with permits of its own.

Ramp aircraft and drive on cargo

Wheeled and tracked equipment is loaded through a rear or nose ramp under its own power or by winch. This removes the crane, shortens ground time and avoids dismantling, which is often the decisive cost factor for project cargo.

Ramp capable freighters are a small global fleet and their availability drives lead time more than price does. Enquiries that name a firm ready window early are the ones that secure them.

What the desk needs to quote outsize

Piece list

Length, width, height and weight for every item, largest first.

Centre of gravity

Position and whether the piece is liftable at marked points.

Packaging state

Crated, skidded, on a cradle or bare with dismantling possible.

Ground capability

Crane availability, loader rating and access at both stations.

Timing

Ready date, window and any fixed installation date at destination.