Outside the Box

Question: Did you know that 12 of the top 30 cargo airports world-wide are located in the United States? Aircraft mechanics looking for job security in this ever volatile industry should know. If we look outside the box, the future of aircraft maintenance may lie in the movement of air cargo, not just with major air carriers.

Air Cargo World magazine states that airports like Memphis, Anchorage, Los Angeles, and Louisville show significant increases in the amount of cargo passing through them. With the jump in flights comes the need for more aircraft, which equals an increase in maintenance opportunities. There are many opportunities for mechanics in supporting the needs of cargo carriers.

For example, there are equipment turnovers. The industry is reeling from rising fuel costs, and air cargo operators are investing in newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Part 121 operators, both cargo and passenger, are on the verge of a major equipment turnover. Airlines like Northwest Cargo and Polar are giving up their old Boeing 747-200 aircraft in favor of the B747-400 or B747-8. FedEx and UPS have signed on for the new Airbus A380 freighter. Passenger-to-cargo conversions are being accomplished on B757, B767 and A300 aircraft.

When I worked for the FedEx maintenance department in 1987, there were 24 widebody aircraft in the fleet. Today the company has 263 widebody aircraft, a 995 percent increase. The international influence FedEx has sustained in 20 years makes it a good example of where cargo air carriers are going.

What makes a cargo aircraft more useful than a passenger aircraft? Talking small, a B727-200 carried 189 passengers. If we use ticket prices of $500 per person, the gross revenue from each flight would not exceed $94,500. A cargo B727-200 has gross revenue of $250,000 to $300,000 of freight. It is just simple math; there is money in carrying the box.

While flying their international and domestic routes, these cargo aircraft must still go through their maintenance phase work. Maintenance repair stations like Evergreen in Oregon, are handling more international customers operating in the U.S., because it is easier for an operator to plan maintenance in a foreign country where the operator has the aircraft stationed than to fly it back home for a phase check. Operating within the regulations, repair stations, e.g., Mobile Aerospace in Alabama, and domestic carriers provide an economic alternative for these international operators while building up their own business.

As an inspector with the FAA, one of my specialties is cargo. I have been able to watch closely the direction air cargo is going, and growth is not limited to the big guys, like UPS. It also includes Part 135 cargo operators with small, single-engine or multi-engine aircraft, as well as cargo equipment repair facilities.

The industry depends more and more on these smaller regional and feeder aircraft. Cargo is no exception. Small aircraft known as feeders fill a need, carrying freight to smaller or more remote airports with Part 135 aircraft; aircraft that range from a Cessna 182 to an ATR-42. The maintenance being performed on these aircraft are performed by fixed base operators or Part 135 operators like Epps in Georgia, with their own maintenance program in place. Contract maintenance is called on to keep them flying while they are in the field.

Part 135 operators are increasing their influence in the industry. There are joint efforts being made by these Part 135 operators to revise the Federal Aviation Regulations to increase the cargo lift allowed by regulation to 18,000 pounds. This, along with other regulation changes, will contribute to Part 135 operators increasing their fleet sizes. A revision may lead to still more jobs.

With all the modern aircraft the cargo operators are bringing on-line, avionics technicians are being kept very busy. Improvements in avionics systems are the cost-savings backbone for air cargo operators to save money through fuel economy, package routing, air traffic routing, component troubleshooting, and weather avoidance.

And then there are cargo unit load devices (ULD), those containers that hold freight inside the plane. They must be returned to service by certified airframe mechanics or repairmen. Cargo operators have thousands of these on their ramps worldwide.

Did you ever wonder how those race cars get to all the NASCAR events, thoroughbred race horses to Belmont, or how Ling-Ling got to the Washington Zoo? Answer: airworthy cargo load equipment.

For me cargo carriers were a good choice, and despite the ups and downs of the economy, they are still a good choice. It's simply a matter of looking outside the box.