Saturday, September 21, 2013

Why An Aircraft Ladder Is Essential

By Mia Kent


In a shrinking world today's modern airport is constantly active. There is a continual number of departures and arrivals. Yet as people wait for their flight not many will be wondering what it takes to operate a modern airport. Possibly a couple of suggestions might be air traffic control and radar, or even a good road network. It is possible that an aircraft ladder would not feature on these lists.

It might sound rather strange but an airport cannot function without this humble piece of equipment. They can be utilized in a variety of ways, and as such they have to be adaptable. As there is not an unlimited number of people who work at these airports one of the prime concerns for ground equipment is portability. These items have to be easy to move, often by just one person.

As an example consider a refueling operation. An airport handles craft of a wide range of makes and models. The refueling points on these aeroplanes are often in different locations, and could be at a variety of heights. To conduct safe refueling tasks the flight line crew need to gain access to all of these fueling points.

As is often the case the manufacturers always look to make their product as safe as possible. Consider the material that this piece has been made from, aluminium. It is a lightweight material, so the risk of injury due to weight when moving this item has been greatly reduced. Even though it is deemed as being lightweight it still has to be robust enough to cope with the use and abuse it will get over its lifetime.

A charged refueling hose can be a heavy item, so the last thing that a member of the ground crew needs is for a piece of equipment to collapse as they are using it. Most of these pieces of equipment have a safe working limit of 300 pounds. The steps often have reinforcing gussets or straps fitted to provide additional strength and stability, again these are made from the same lightweight aluminium.

Even the width of the step tread has been thought about, they are designed to provide a safe, yet comfortable, foot hold. If you look closer you will notice they are perforated. The perforations fulfill two purposes, they help to limit the total weight, and due wet conditions still ensure safe footing.

You'll also notice the wheels located on one side, these also the flight line crew to tilt the equipment and move it easily. These items come in a wide range of heights, but to the same high specifications. So be it six feet or twelve feet high there is a stable platform from which to work. Even if they were knocked over by other machinery there will be no chance of a spark due to the aluminium design.

Imagine that all of this thought has gone into the humble aircraft ladder. Just consider how much thought has also gone into the rest of the equipment which gets used at an airport each and everyday. The other equipment used will also serve multiple purposes, and incorporates servicing platforms and wing access steps.




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