LD-3 Container Ground Handling - Update for the 1980’s

The introduction of wide body aircraft into commercial airline service in 1969 culminated what was perhaps the greatest concentrated United States aviation engineering effort ever made. The magnificent Boeing 747 followed shortly by the equally fine Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 aircraft were truly aviation marvels.

To handle the high volume of baggage and freight that these airplanes could carry the lower fuselage area was designed to carry containers. These containers were transported to and from the aircraft by means of a trailer train, normally consisting of four or five trailers carrying single LD-3 or similar containers.

Unfortunately, subsequent field experience of the initial container handling equipment has been poor. The upgrading of the design of ramp container handling equipment for the 1980's focuses on the elimination of recurring problems. Attention was paid to improving reliability and decreasing maintenance requirements. Designs to insure efficiency in operations and maintenance were developed by exhaustive reviews of many alternatives before a system was finalized. Fuel economy was treated as sacred. Last, but by no means least, operator's conveniences and safety were refined as much as possible.