Clipper cargo horizons, Vol. 1, No. 7, July 1961

              HORIZONS
A Pan Am Publication About Worldwide Air Distribution • Vol. I, No. 7 • July, 1961
Cargo Plane Modifications Herald
New Total Ground Speed Concept
Ground handling times to be drastically shaved, preloading a feature; new Pan Am system to coincide with coming reduced transatlantic rates
TOTAL SYSTEM, called AirPak, includes preloaded pallets, dollies, forklifts with roller platforms, ball transfer plates and gliding roller tracks in the deck. It’s compatible with motor carrier and military standards now, with future terminals and all-cargo jets.
Air distribution has cracked through another speed barrier—that of excessive ground handling time.
Ball transfer plates and gliding roller tracks on the deck of all-cargo aircraft, coupled with preloaded pallets, towed on dollies, provide the total new system which will drastically shave groundhandling time.
Already the Douglas Aircraft Co. is moving ahead full-speed to modify Pan Am DC-7C aircraft to have the new system, to be known as AirPak, operative by September. At that time the latest modified version of the DC-7 F will have a lift capacity increased to over 18 tons.
Taken in toto, plane, pallets and rolling equipment will fashion a freewheeling cargo handling service from production line through the terminal to waiting plane. It will transform ground handling into a floating glide system, destined to whittle hours off present ground handling times. Actual loading of the DC-7F will be slashed to about 45 minutes.
Big Step. The big modification step by Pan Am will make operative a fleet of 13 modern all-cargo planes throughout the system now serving 80 countries. Three of the planes will be totally new conversions; the remaining 10 will be
PALLETS TAKE up to 6,700 pounds, can be preloaded at plant or terminal.
the present fleet incorporating increased capacity and the new modified floor tracking.
Coinciding with drastic reductions in transatlantic cargo rates, first use of the new handling system in an expanded fleet will reflect these advantages to the shipping public:
•	Provides an immediate advance in ground speed without excessive costs and at a time when rates are actually coming down;
•	Cuts ground time by hours, planeloading of all-cargo aircraft to approximately 45 minutes;
•	Preloading on pallets can start at plant or factory;
•	Late cargo can be quickly stored aboard already stacked cargo;
•	Big and little containers can be accommodated and sealed to permit in-bond transportation, cutting customs delays;
•	Faster loading and unloading can eventually tighten schedules and increase the availability of cargo aircraft;
•	An additional two tons in payload per aircraft are available because structural modifications and palletization allow more efficient use of interior cubic space;
•	Space and flight pattern economies can further hasten rate reductions.
As other airlines adopt the system it will enable swift interchange of palletized cargo at air terminals.
A significant long-range advantage of this big step forward in streamlining the (Continued on Page 8)
•Trademark, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.