ERJs converted into freight planes?

[Superpilot92]

How many of you think this will happen? It seems like you could take some of the erjs after the airlines are done with them and turn them into cargo planes and be feeders for fedex or ups. Just food for though i am just curious if this might happen in the future.

 

[JATAGA]

cargo door?

 

[Superpilot92]

Conversion! Alot of planes do that

 

[328dude]

You would have to find someone to take on the STC issues. A lot of money involved for a new cargo plane.

 

[KingKong2]

WOW...This could be the dumbest things I have ever saw posted on this website. The EMB is one of the most wieght restricted jets out there.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

The cabin is also too narrow to make it very useful as a freighter.

 

[FlyChicaga]

The cabin is also too narrow to make it very useful as a freighter.

Hmm, like a Lear cabin?

Landing weight restricted 145LR at 47749#, meaning a 5200# burn, with a 8000# fuel load, and a BOW of 24805. Roughly. Considering all seats removed, galley removed, lav removed (maybe?), etc. The BOW of 24805 + 8000# for fuel, equals 32805. So the weight of aircraft and fuel considered, you'd have room for 14944# of cargo. What is the typical cargo load on say, a Shorts 360?

Anyways, I doubt it will happen. The airlines will ride these airplanes hard, then put them in the desert. This airplane sure ain't no B727.

 

[Superpilot92]

Hmm, like a Lear cabin?

Landing weight restricted 145LR at 47749#, meaning a 5200# burn, with a 8000# fuel load, and a BOW of 24805. Roughly. Considering all seats removed, galley removed, lav removed (maybe?), etc. The BOW of 24805 + 8000# for fuel, equals 32805. So the weight of aircraft and fuel considered, you'd have room for 14944# of cargo. What is the typical cargo load on say, a Shorts 360?

Anyways, I doubt it will happen. The airlines will ride these airplanes hard, then put them in the desert. This airplane sure ain't no B727.

Very True, Its liike you said if you cleared out all the seats and lav and galley. Its bigger than a lear and the payload would be anywhere from 10000 to 15000 pounds. Just a thought. And i realize the weight restrictions that occur because i deal with it everyday but with no pax and an empty plane it would be a different story as a frieghter.Just a thought.

 

[erj-145mech]

The floor and support structure is too light to be able to carry a load, pounds per square foot wise. The weight savings from the pax furnishings removal would be used to strengthen the floor structure. The fuselage structure is not condusive to installing a large hinged cargo door on the side of the fuselage because of the type of fuselage construction. The fuselage skin is chemically milled to reduce weight, which also weakens the strength, so you can't add a splice to it. Thats why when you see a skin repair, its an external scab patch, no way to do an internal repair.

One set of elevator and rudder cable's are routed vertically aft of the lav and forward of the cargo bin, so you'd have to have a good barrier to separarate the load from them. It would not be a good day if the cables got jammed from shifting cargo.
It would be too labor intensive to hand carry boxes thru the main cabin door and stack them in the cabin if you can't use LD style containers.

 

[h25b]

The floor and support structure is too light to be able to carry a load, pounds per square foot wise. The weight savings from the pax furnishings removal would be used to strengthen the floor structure. The fuselage structure is not condusive to installing a large hinged cargo door on the side of the fuselage because of the type of fuselage construction. The fuselage skin is chemically milled to reduce weight, which also weakens the strength, so you can't add a splice to it. Thats why when you see a skin repair, its an external scab patch, no way to do an internal repair.

One set of elevator and rudder cable's are routed vertically aft of the lav and forward of the cargo bin, so you'd have to have a good barrier to separarate the load from them. It would not be a good day if the cables got jammed from shifting cargo.
It would be too labor intensive to hand carry boxes thru the main cabin door and stack them in the cabin if you can't use LD style containers.

I agree. I don't think you'd want to go splitting in to that fuselage to install a larger cargo door.

 

[ALPO]

It can't even take all the the people and all the bags now. This will be a freighter like all the parked J31s and Saabs are.

 

[El Bucho]

"after the airlines are done with them"?? are you f'n kidding? After 10 years the best thing that could happen to an RJ is for it to have the engine and avionics taken out andused as an artificial reef down in FL or something. Talk about a "throw away" airplane...if there was ever one, that is it.

 

[FN FAL]

If you look around the web, there's more than one company offering conversions of ATR's for freight use. I think this where you are going to see the expansion of the feeder industry...larger turbo props. You might see the SAAB 340's and Beech 1900's coming to replace all those Jetstreams that places like Superior use.

Interesting question on whether or not regional jets will make it to the cargo world, though. At the feeders, it seems as if we have a pretty good working relationship with mainline...so I would have to say that I would rather not see any regional jets down by us, ever. A couple more ATR-42's would be nice, but I don't want to see our "happy home" disturbed with the mainline v. regional type stuff you guys have at the passenger airlines.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

Hmm, like a Lear cabin?

Lears carry bank checks....which is not something that requires a very wide cabin, and is not something that would require an airplane as large as an ERJ either.

 

[labbats]

I think I saw an ATR painted up in cargo colors down in Tennessee last month.

As for the disposable ERJ, I couldn't agree more. I just flew two of the old birds and I could swear I saw a gremlin climbing on the wing messing everything up.

 

[cforst513]

what about a CRJ, then? isn't their cabin bigger than an ERJ? i've never been in one, so i dunno, but i think that i remember hearing the seats go 2 seats, aisle, 2 seats. does it have a better payload capacity than the ERJ?

 

[ATRedneck]

I think I saw an ATR painted up in cargo colors down in Tennessee last month.

When CoEx retired the ATR, they sold the ones we owned (not leased) to one of the Fed Ex feeders.

There's one that stays in LFT as well.

 

[Master Shake]

This is a very realistic idea. Even with a load limit of 8000lbs it would offer good range to connect to the FedEx, UPS and DHL hubs to smaller cities. Especially if the aircraft could be utilized for more than 2 legs a day. JMHO.

 

[T-REX]

Why not post this on the major forums as well?? Im sure some UPS/FDX guys might have some input on RJs flying feeder work for them.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

Why not post this on the major forums as well?? Im sure some UPS/FDX guys might have some input on RJs flying feeder work for them.

Touche. Wouldn't that be a kicker? All of these freight dawgs who think that their career is so secure compared to the airlines. The same thing will happen in freight, its just a matter of time. All thanks to the Wal Mart world that we live in.