A320 makes cargo debut with Qantas Freight

The most ordered commercial jet in history, the A320, made its cargo debut on Tuesday. Qantas Freight launched the converted A321 freighter into service in partnership with Australia Post.

The A321, leased to Qantas by Vallair, was converted by EFW in a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering and renamed the A321P2F to reflect its "Passenger to Freight" conversion.

The new freighter aircraft entered in service with Qantas Freighter (Photo Courtesy Vallair)

Suppliers and maintainers in the region will be seeing this new aircraft number pop up more often. Another 10 planes of the same type are being prepped for the conversion as well, marking a trend adapt older or retired passenger aircraft to the new function during a time when airline travel has taken a dip.

EFW expects the cargo market to be able to absorb about 1,000 A320 family units over the next 20 years.

For the A321P2F, EFW reinforced the floor of the main cabin, installed a wide door to allow cargo access and closed passenger windows to facilitate the new aircraft's use. 

Now, a converted A321P2F can carry up to 27 tons of cargo, which is 9 times more than the Boeing 737-300F Qantas currently uses. It can fly nonstop for 3,520 km (2187 miles).

“Given the outstanding performance of this freighter, we are confident that the A321P2F will be a game changer in the freighter market,” Chief Executive Officer of EFW Andreas Sperl said. 

EFW also offers the conversion of the A320 to A320P2F, which is capable of carrying 21 tons of cargo with a range of 3,890 km (2417 miles).

Many cargo airlines choose to use quality converted aircraft because they can gain the same amount of revenue without using an expensive production process, and the converted freighters meet the high dispatch reliability required of the industry.

When aircraft reach a certain service age, and have completed its useful operational service as passenger jetliner, they can be scrapped for spare parts, retired to aircraft graveyards or reconfigured for service in another aviation sector.

Converting a passenger aircraft into a freighter is one way to extend the economic life of an aircraft.

Conversions involve major structural modifications. These aircraft be stripped for overhauled parts the company can resell to suppliers, and factory-new parts and materials then go into the aircraft to reinforce it for cargo configuration.

Some typical conversion tasks include installing a main deck cargo door (MDCD) on the fuselage, a one-minute smoke detecting system inside the aircraft, and a non-powered or powered Cargo Loading System to allow for loading of various cargo arrangements on the main deck.

Airbus Delivers First Five-Blade Helicopter, as an Air Ambulance

 Airbus delivered the first of its new five-blade H145s to the Norwegian Air Ambulance Sept. 30, in Germany. The variant is offered as a new aircraft off the production line, or through a retrofit kit for operators of the original H145 type.

The organization has another two five-bladed H145s on order and plans to retrofit its four-bladed H145s when the kit becomes available.

Airbus's five-blade helicopter was type certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in June. (Photo Courtesy Airbus Helicopters)

In this update of the H145, one of Airbus' popular helicopter designs, not only includes an extra blade but also adds a bearingless main rotor system with a fully composite flex-beam and main rotor blades to make the aircraft lighter and more efficient. This version also dispenses of the main rotor head entirely.

The net result of these modifications is an increase of 330 pounds in useful load over the four-bladed H145, a payload increase that is notably important for air ambulances.

“The increased useful load and the smooth flight make the new H145 the perfect choice . . . to further push the boundaries and enhance helicopter emergency medical services [HEMS] in Norway and in the whole air ambulance community, " said Hans Morten Lossius, Secretary General of Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation.

This foundation is the mother company and owner of the Norwegian Air Ambulance. Founded in 1978 by Norwegian doctor Jens Moe, it brought HEMS to Norway by opening a first base near Oslo. Today, it operates all 13 HEMS bases in Norway and all four bases in Denmark using a fleet of H135s and H145s. 

"Our main target with this aircraft is research and development projects,” said Erik Normann, director of flight operations development at the Norwegian Air Ambulance. “Of course, part of medical research is flying actual patients, so we will put it into service towards the end of this year.”

Normann said the aircraft would be "an important tool" in the organization's medical research projects, include testing small devices that could help the service in their daily work - including a CT scanner.

"A CT scanner is normally 400-500 kilograms, located in a hospital,” said Normann. “We would like to put it in this aircraft to improve stroke treatment dramatically.”

Other modifications include upgraded avionics with the installation of Airbus's Wireless Airborne Communication System, which allows navigation and mission database information to be imported form a tablet, and has the capability for cockpit Wi-Fi.

“I would like to thank the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation for their trust in our helicopters and especially in the H145 family of helicopters. I can’t wait to see this new version in operation, contributing to the success of life-saving missions,” said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters’ CEO. “Our teams have worked hard to bring this enhanced multi-mission helicopter to the market quickly.”

Mortin Lossius added the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation is proud to be the launch customer for this type.  The new H145s will be flown to Norway, where the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation will install an Aerolite interior to enable the helicopter to fly HEMS missions.

This groundbreaking modification to a popular aircraft are already proving successful to Airbus during a time when many aircraft companies are struggling to sell commercial and ambulatory aircraft. The company currently has 90 orders for the five-blade helicopter and 80 orders for the retrofit kit.

Airbus's five-blade helicopter was type certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in June, and the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to validate the new type this year, according to Axel Humpert, senior vice president and head of the H145 program at Airbus.

With more blades, come more unique parts. You can learn more about what rotorcraft parts are important to the five-blade upgrade at Aircraft Parts.