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Technology update
Onboard ramp for Beluga
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The Airbus A300-600ST. (photo provided by FTPO)
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Loading the giant Airbus A300-600ST Beluga Super Transporter freighter should be made easier thanks to a new, onboard ramp now in prototype build. The loading ramp has been designed to facilitate the "speedy loading of even the largest military helicopter" without having to remove the rotor blades, according to Airbus. The ramp could be operated by one person and within 20 min be deployed from, or retracted into, the aircraft.
As well as commercial benefits, the system has military deployment potential. According to the company, the aircraft would be capable of same-day transportation of two fully-equipped Chinook helicopters from London to Nicaragua. The ramp - 12 m long, 5.0 m wide - was said to have been designed using advanced aeronautical technology. Keeping weight down was a design challenge, but some 70% of the ramp and all its largest structural components are made from carbon fiber, which enabled engineers to keep the total weight less than 6 t.
The ramp is being built by ATI (Airbus Transport International), Airbus Industrie's wholly-owned transport subsidiary specializing in outsize cargo. Four Belugas (a fifth is in build) transport Airbus Industrie aircraft sections between manufacturers across Europe. A Beluga can carry a payload of 47 t over a range of 1660 km.
Stuart Birch
Interesting? Circle 38
Not interesting? Circle 39
Aerospace Engineering September 2000
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