Dollies

Those on the left are dollies for baggage unit load device (ULD). Those on the right are dollies for loose baggages.

Dolly for unit load devices

Dolly for cargo pallets

Dollies for loose baggages are used for the transportation of loose baggages, over-sized baggages, mail bags, loose cargo carton boxes, etc. between the aircraft and the terminal or sorting facility. Dollies for loose baggages are fitted with a brake system which blocks the wheels from moving when the connecting rod is not attached to a tug. Most dollies for loose baggages are completely enclosed except for the sides which use plastic curtains to protect items from weather. In the US, these dollies are called Baggage Cart, but in Europe Baggage Cart means passenger baggage trolleys.

Dollies for unit load device (ULD) and cargo pallets are standard sized flatbed trolley or platform, with many wheels, roller bars or ball bearings protruding above the top surface for easy loading and unloading of ULD and cargo pallets respectively. Since ULD/pallet rest on ball bearings, these dollies are equipped with hinge/locks to secure the position of the ULD/pallet on them during tugging transportation. The aviation industry adopted ULD/pallets to be lightweight containers and supporting platforms respectively, intended to be loaded into aircrafts and fly along with their loads, they need to be minimum in weight and thus do not have wheels or strong base structure. Also, the ULD/pallets have stringent dimensional standard following the aircraft cargo bay dimension. Therefore, these dollies are custom designed to complement the ULD/pallet's dimension, hinge/fixture position, weak overall physical strength and transportation need. Advanced dollies for ULD and pallets, such as those used on an airport apron, may have the following specialized facilities.

· Rollers - Dollies have built-in rollers or balls bearings on the deck to assist in the moving of containers or pallets. Advance dollies have two sets of power driven rollers, one set moves the container forward and backward, and the other move it left and right. The precise movement is needed to align the center of gravity of the container to the center of the deck, or else the dollies may turn over when in motion. In addition, the containers or pallets on dollies are secured with built-in locks.

· Revolving platform - Some dollies have a revolving platform to facilitate rotating the ULDs to the correct orientation before transferring them onto a cargo conveyor belt or ULD/pallet lift leading to the aircraft bay. Some revolving platforms are power assisted.

· Brakes - Dollies have mechanical brakes which automatically lock the dolly wheels when the towbar is in the parked (vertical) orientation, and automatically release the dolly wheels when the towbar is in the towing (horizontal) orientation. No explicit manual locking/unlocking action by the operator is needed.

Dollies fleet management is an issue specific to the airport ground support equipment industry. Dollies are not inexpensive consumable equipment like a hand trolley. Dollies are numerous (thousands) in a large airport apron. An airport usually has more than one dolly fleet operator, using dollies not greatly different in appearance, and each operator is using many types of dollies simultaneously. Apron is a large area that using direct eye-sight to find an item is not easy. Dolly in operation needs frequent detachment and re-attachment from the tug and other dollies. It is not access controlled (it does not need a car key be used, like an automobile). It is not always supervised by the same driver (any tractor can come to pick up any dolly and tug them away, sometimes erroneously). As a result of all above factors, dollies do get lost/misplaced on an apron, or at least dollies fleet management is an ongoing burden for ground support equipment operator. Major airports are starting to attach battery power active RFID tags to Dollies to facilitate their fleet management. The active RFID tags can be detected at up to 100m away in open space from the fixed RFID reader antenna, which can be mounted at the aircraft loading bridges. The RFID tag report the dolly's facility number as well as the "battery weak" and "strong collision" status, making management of the RFID tags (and thus the associated dolly) easier.

Chocks

Chocks

Chocks are used to prevent an aircraft from moving while parked at the gate or in a hangar. Chocks are placed in the front ('fore') and back ('aft') of the wheels of landing gear. They are made out of hard wood or hard rubber. Corporate safety guidelines in the US almost always specify that chocks must be used in a pair on the same wheel and they must be placed in physical contact with the wheel. Therefore, "chocks" are typically found in pairs connected by a segment of rope or cable. The word "chock" is also used as a verb, defined as the act of placing chocks in front and back of the wheel.

Aircraft Tripod Jack

They are used to support a parked aircraft to prevent their tail from drooping or even falling to the ground. When the passengers in the front get off an aircraft, the aircraft becomes tail heavy and the tail will droop. Using the jack is optional and not every aircraft need it. When needed, they are tugged to the tail and setup by manpower. Once setup, no supervision to the jack is needed until the aircraft is ready to leave.

Powered equipment

Refuelers

Hydrant truck aircraft refueler.

Tank truck aircraft refueler.

Aircraft refuelers can be either a self-contained fuel truck, or a hydrant truck or cart. Fuel trucks are self-contained, typically containing up to 10,000 US gallons of fuel and have their own pumps, filters, hoses, and other equipment. A hydrant cart or truck hooks into a central pipeline network and provides fuel to the aircraft. There is a significant advantage with hydrant systems when compared to fuel trucks, as fuel trucks must be periodically replenished.

Tugs and tractors

The tugs and tractors at an airport have several purposes and represent the essential part of ground support services. They are used to move all equipment that can not move itself. This includes bag carts, mobile air conditioning units, air starters, and lavatory carts.

Ground power units

Ground power unit that needs towing.

A ground power unit (GPU) is a vehicle capable of supplying power to aircraft parked on the ground. Ground power units may also be built into the jetway, making it even easier to supply electrical power to aircraft. Many aircraft require 28 V of direct current and 115 V 400 Hz of alternating current. The electric energy is carried from a generator to a connection on the aircraft via 3 phase 4-wire insulated cable capable of handling 261 amps (90 kVA). These connectors are standard for all aircraft, as defined in ISO 6858.

Buses

Soviet apron bus

Buses at airports are used to move people from the terminal to either an aircraft or another terminal. The specific term for airport buses that drive on the apron only is apron bus. Apron buses may have a low profile like the Guangtai or Neoplan aircraft buses because people disembark directly to the apron. Some airports use buses that are raised to the level of a passenger terminal and can only be accessed from a door on the 2nd level of the terminal. These odd-looking buses are usually referred to as "people movers" or "mobile lounges". Airport buses are usually normal city buses or specialized terminal buses. Specialized airport buses have very low floor and wide doors on both sides of the bus for most efficient passenger movement and flexibility in depot parking. The biggest producers of airport buses are in China (Weihai, Shenyang, Beijing, Jinhua), Portugal and Slovenia.

Container loader

Photo of aircraft container and pallet loader showing its numerous powered rollers for shifting and rotation of containers.

Photo showing a ULD loader lifting a ULD from apron dollies level to aircraft cargo bay level.

Unit Load Device (ULD) is standardized size air cargo container. All are apron Ground support equipment.

Container loaders, also known as cargo loaders or "K loaders", are used for the loading and unloading of containers and pallets into and out of aircraft. The loader has two platforms which raise and descend independently. The containers or palettes on the loader are moved with the help of built-in rollers or wheels. There are different container and pallet loaders.

For military transport planes special container and pallet loaders are used. Some military applications use airborne loaders, which are transportable within the transport plane itself. Container and pallet loaders are mainly produced in France, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Japan, China, and the United States.

Transporters

Container transporter

Transporters are cargo platforms constructed so that, beside loading and unloading containers, they can also can transport the cargo. These transporters are not typically used in the United States.

Air Start Unit (ASU)

Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) jet air starter

An air start unit is a vehicle with a built-in gas turbine engine which gives the necessary quantity of high-pressure air to start the engine. This unit is typically used when the aircraft's APU is not operational. An air starter blows air in by one or two hoses attached to the aircraft.

Potable water trucks

Potable water trucks are special vehicles that provide reliability and consistency in the delivery of quality water to an aircraft. The water is filtered and protected from the elements while being stored on the vehicle. A pump in the vehicle assists in moving the water from the truck to the aircraft.

Lavatory service vehicles

A man connects the waste suction hose to the lavatory service outlet on the underbelly of a C-17 Globemaster III, enabling him to suck the waste into a tank in the truck shown in the background.

Lavatory service vehicles empty and refill lavatories onboard aircraft. Waste is stored in tanks on the aircraft until these vehicles can empty them and remove the waste. After the tank is emptied, it is refilled with a mixture of water and a disinfecting concentrate, commonly called 'blue juice'. Instead of a self-powered vehicle, some airports have lavatory carts, which are smaller and must be pulled by tug.

Catering vehicle

Photo showing two Aircraft Catering Vehicle serving an aircraft

Mercedes-Benz Econic aircraft caterer

Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drinks for passengers and crew. The meals are typically delivered in standardized carts. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air.

The catering vehicle consists of a rear body, lifting system, platform and an electro-hydraulic control mechanism. The vehicle can be lifted up, down and the platform can be moved to place in front of the aircraft.

In-flight food is prepared in the flight kitchen which is completely HACCP certified facility where food is made in sterile and controlled environments. The packed food is then placed in trollies and wheeled into the Catering truck at the flight kitchen, which can be located within a 5 km radius of the airport.

Thereon the vehicle drives to the airport and is parked in front of the plane. The stabilizers are deployed and the van body is lifted. The platform can be fine controlled to move left-right as well as in-out so that it is aligned with the door correctly.

The body is made of insulated panels and is capable of maintaining temperatures of 0 degrees by means of refrigeration unit.

A special higher type of catering truck has been designed for the Airbus A380 because of its unique height.

Belt loaders

Belt loader

Belt loaders are vehicles with conveyor belts for unloading and loading of baggage and cargo on aircraft. A belt loader is positioned at the door sill of an aircraft hold (baggage compartment) for the operation. Belt loaders are used for narrow body aircraft and bulk hold of wide body aircraft. Baggage stored without containers is known as bulk loading.

Passenger boarding steps/ramps

Passenger boarding stairs

Passenger boarding stairs, sometimes referred to as 'air-stairs', 'boarding ramps', 'stair car' or 'aircraft steps', provide a mobile means to traverse between aircraft doors and the ground. Because larger aircraft have door sills 5 to 20 feet high, stairs facilitate safe boarding and deplaning. While smaller units are generally moved by being towed or pushed, larger units are self-powered. Most models have adjustable height to accommodate various aircraft. Optional features may include canopy, heat, supplementary lighting and red carpet.

Pushback tugs and tractors

Photo shows a pushback tug carrying a towbar on apron.

Pushback tugs are mostly used to push an aircraft away from the gate when it is ready to leave. These tugs are very powerful and because of the large engines, are sometimes referred to as an engine with wheels. Pushback tugs can also be used to pull aircraft in various situations, such as to a hangar. Different size tugs are required for different size aircraft. Some tugs use a tow-bar as a connection between the tug and the aircraft, while other tugs lift the nose gear off the ground to make it easier to tow or push. Recently there has been a push for towbarless tractors as larger airplanes are designed.

De/anti-icing vehicles

A de/anti-icing vehicle de-icing the wing of a Croatia Airlines aircraft.

The procedure of de/anti-icing, protection from fluids freezing up on aircraft, is done from special vehicles. These vehicles have booms, like a cherry picker, to allow easy access to the entire aircraft. A hose sprays a special mixture that melts current ice on the aircraft and also prevents some ice from building up while waiting on the ground.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-27