Жүк көлігіне арналған контейнерлер мен паллеттер

Pallet or container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on aircraft

A unit load device (ULD) is a container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide body aircraft and specific narrow body aircraft. It allows preloading of cargo, confidence the containerised load will fit in the aircraft and efficient planning of aircraft weight and balance and reduced labour and time in loading aircraft holds compared with 'bulk loading' single items of cargo or luggage by hand. Each ULD has its own packing list or manifest so that its contents can be tracked. A loaded aircraft cargo pallet secured with a cargo net also forms a ULD, but its load must be gauged for size in addition to being weighed to ensure aircraft door and hold clearances. The IATA publishes ULD regulations and notes there are 900,000 in service worth more than US$1 billion, averaging $ each.

LD3s, LD6s, and LD11s will fit 787s, 777s, 747s, MD 11s, Il 86s, Il 96s, L 1011s and all Airbus wide bodies. The 767 uses the smaller LD2s and LD8s because of its narrower fuselage. The less common LD1 is designed specifically for the 747, but LD3s are more commonly used in its place because of ubiquity (they have the same floor dimensions such that one LD3 takes the place of one LD1). LD3s with reduced height ( instead of ) can also be loaded on the Airbus A320 family. LD7 pallets will fit 787s, 777s, 747s, late model 767s (with larger doors), and Airbus wide bodies. Interchangeability of certain ULDs between LD3/6/11 aircraft and LD2/8 aircraft is possible when cargo needs to be quickly transferred to a connecting flight. Both LD2s and LD8s can be loaded in LD3/6/11 aircraft, but at the cost of using internal volume inefficiently (33 ft3 wasted per LD2). Only the LD3 of the LD3/6/11 family of ULDs can be loaded in a 767; it will occupy an entire row where two LD2s or one LD8 would otherwise have fit (90 ft3 wasted per LD3). Policies vary from airline to airline as to whether such transfers are allowed. The 787, intended to replace the 767, was designed to use the LD3/6/11 family of ULDs to solve the wasted volume issue.

On the main deck of cargo planes are tall ULDs with footprints similar to those of or wide pallets and or long. A wide × tall ULD is half the volume of a × 88 inch pallet. The 20 foot pallet is long and wide. What the actual dimensions of contoured upper deck ULDs are is very hard to know, because most manufacturers only profile width, length and height data. There are several common types of contoured main deck ULDs, that are contoured (curved to fit in the plane's body) to provide as much cargo volume as possible. Initially ULD contouring was simply a triangle removed from one or two corners of the profile of the ULD, such as the common LD3 and LD6. Main deck ULDs use curves for the contoured shape to truly maximize cargo volume. Upper deck ULDs are just like lower deck ULDs that are either the full width of the plane with two corners of the profile removed (lower deck LD6 lower), or that container is cut in half, down the center line of the plane, (lower deck LD3 and upper deck AAX). Main deck ULDs and pallets are not only taller than lower deck ULDs, they are frequently two or four times longer. They are usually organized like an LD6, using the width of the plane and missing two profile corners, or two very long LD3s, stored in parallel to use the plane's width and each missing one profile corner, but often twice or four times as long from plane's nose to tail. Many air cargo companies use main deck ULDs that have both features called dual profile, so that on smaller planes such as the Boeing 727, they are stored widthwise and have two corners contoured, and on the bigger Boeing 767, they can be rotated 90 degrees and shipped in parallel like LD3s, so that only one corner is contoured when being used like an LD3. This greatly simplifies transportation of cargo containers at slight cost of cargo volume.