A trunk route aircraft has at least one wing for supporting the aircraft during flight, and at least one propulsor for forward propulsion of the aircraft. The trunk route aircraft further includes a pressurized trunk route fuselage having a double-bubble cross-sectional shape and a generally vertically-oriented longitudinal bulkhead dividing the trunk route fuselage interior into two side-by-side trunk route payload compartments. The longitudinal bulkhead is loaded in tension when the trunk route fuselage is pressurized. The trunk route payload compartments are each configured to receive a plurality of lightweight ISO (International Organization for Standardization) geometry containers arranged end-to-end, or a plurality of container inserts arranged end-to-end, each container insert also configured to be received within the lightweight ISO-geometry container, or a combination of one or more lightweight ISO-geometry containers and one or more container inserts arranged end-to-end.

The present invention discloses a disruptive low capital and operational cost logistics system and method that provides for fast and massive delivery of e-commerce merchandise, including same day delivery, of thousands of items and packages, in extensive geographical areas, such as whole states, countries and continents, reducing the need for building, operating, or using multiple fulfillment warehouses located near the consumers as in traditional e-commerce logistics, creating a revolution in the e-commerce industry worldwide. In a disruptive manner, the systems and methods of the present invention facilitate the logistics for e-commerce delivery processes, and also may allow at the same time reducing the use of massive quantities of cardboard packages that are used for protection and containment for e-commerce orders, being sustainably beneficial for the e-commerce market, the environment, and the consumer. This is achieved by the use of multibox packages that are configured to contain a set of products including orders from different consumers and not necessarily having individual packages for individual consumers, where such multibox packages are sorted at the origin in a Central Fulfillment Center.

A universal payload manipulation tool employs a segmented ring captured in a telescoping cradle to perform the positioning functions of both a workstation and a loading adapter. The ring rotates over a range of 360 degrees to perform the position functions of the workstation. With the upper ring segment removed, the telescoping cradle rotates and the lower ring segment rotates and extends from the telescoping cradle over a combined range of rotation to position the payload at a specified angle for unloading to perform the position functions of a loading adapter. This configuration allows the universal tool to access confined spaces while supporting a range of rotation required in many applications for unloading the payload (loading the payload to another platform such as an aircraft). The manipulation tool may also be configured as only a loading adapter.

Embodiments are directed to low-profile, low-weight cargo loader, including a pair of cargo loaders including a first cargo loader arranged in tandem with a second cargo loader in a first orientation. According to an embodiment, each of the first cargo loader and the second cargo loader includes a chassis, a scissor lift, a platform, a front driving system, and a rear driving system. According to an embodiment, the second cargo loader is configured to be stacked on the first cargo loader in a second orientation.

A load carrier for an aircraft cargo hold includes a bottom element with a support surface, the load carrier being movable over a floor surface in a floor plane while the support surface faces the floor surface, the bottom element having a base surface. The support surface has rolling elements rotatable about a rotation axis oriented where a parallel to the axis runs parallel to the floor plane, and the rolling elements being retained on the bottom element where the rotation axis of each of the rolling elements can be rotated about a vertical axis running perpendicularly to the floor plane. A load carrier can include a bottom element, the support surface of which has outlet openings, through which air can exit from the support surface to form an air cushion under the support surface. A load carrier can include a bottom element the support surface of which has slider elements.

A system and a method are provided for safely and efficiently transferring cargo and freight packed in ULD containers directly between an airport freight terminal and freight aircraft. An enclosed freightway is designed to provide a direct connection between the freight terminal and aircraft cargo doors. The enclosed freightway is structured and sized to move ULD containers automatically or manually between freight aircraft and freight terminals. Different freightway configurations enable direct connection between the freight terminal and freight aircraft main cargo door when freight aircraft are driven by electric taxi drive systems or aircraft engines and parked in nose-in orientations and when freight aircraft are driven by electric taxi drive systems and parked in parallel orientations at the freight terminal. An alternative embodiment provides direct connections between freight aircraft cargo doors and interior loading docks for aircraft driven with electric taxi drive systems.

A harness system for a power drive unit is disclosed. In various embodiments, the harness system includes an electrical cable having a first end and a second end, a plurality of cover members positioned along a length of the cable and a spring member positioned adjacent the plurality of cover members along the length of the cable.

A fixture for supporting a payload including first and second carriages, first and second cantilevered supports, and a support beam is disclosed. The first and second carriages each have a longitudinal axis that is parallel with the other. Each cantilevered support is coupled to a respective carriage and extends at an oblique angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the carriage. The first and second cantilevered supports extend substantially parallel to each other. The support beam extends between the cantilevered supports such that a first end of the support beam is coupled to the first support structure and a second end of the support beam is coupled to the second support structure. The cantilevered supports enable the payload to extend into otherwise unusable cargo bay storage space within the nose or tailcones of an aircraft.

Provided is a cargo carrying vehicle including; an elevating table 2 elevatable in the vertical direction; a plurality of rotating bodies 31 located on the elevating table 2 and configured to rotate so as to carry a cargo C in a conveyance direction X that is a direction toward a loading-unloading part of an aircraft; and a support 32 configured to support the plurality of rotating bodies 31, wherein the support 32 and the plurality of rotating bodies 31 constitute the conveying unit 3, and the conveying unit 3 is movable on the elevating table 2 in a position adjusting direction Y that is a direction intersecting the vertical direction and the conveyance direction.

A boom conveyor apparatus includes a boom that carries a conveyor, a support structure for the boom, a rear pivot joint that connects a rear end of the boom to the support structure, and a pivot drive that controls pivoting movement of the boom about the rear pivot joint. The boom conveyor apparatus includes an operator platform and an attachment mechanism at a front end of the boom whereby the operator platform may be attached to the boom or detached therefrom. The attachment mechanism includes a levelling mechanism that is configured to apply a levelling adjustment to the operator platform.