Specialists from Volga-Dnepr Airlines developed an unusual logistical solution for transporting tunnel boring equipment aboard an Il-76TD-90VD. Two rotor blocks of the medium section of the drilling rig, weighing 13 and 17.5 tons, were transported from Zhengzhou to Norilsk.
Usually, transporting such cargo is only possible with the use of a set of special loading equipment and external cranes at the departure and arrival airports.
However, in this case, due to tight deadlines on the Chinese side, it proved impossible to implement the company’s existing standard method for loading heavy single-piece cargo.
The specialists of the cargo planning center developed a new technology in the shortest possible time for loading single-piece cargo without the use of truck cranes. The team proposed using a high loader and special loading equipment, fittings that are available within the company.
At the arrival airport in Norilsk, unloading was carried out according to the classic scheme using fittings, a low-loader trailer, and a truck crane. The single-piece cargo was delivered to the customer safe and sound.
In aviation, a "high loader" (English: high loader) is an airfield container and pallet loader, a specialized self-propelled vehicle designed for the fast and safe delivery of cargo and in-flight catering onto an aircraft.
Let us recall that the Volga-Dnepr fleet specializes in delivering cargo of any complexity. For example, in the case of Elektro-L series weather satellites, the An-124 Ruslan transport aircraft is the only transportation option. In December 225, an Il-76TD-90VD delivered PGS-1500 platforms to Antarctica with 576 fuel barrels.