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Cargo Door and TroopDoor Ladder


Talon1LM
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Ok, this is for all you Mature/Senior Experienced Loadmasters, maybe some of the newer Loadmasters might know. I am looking for the weight of the Troop Door Ladder and the weight limit total of items stored in the Cargo Door.

I can remember being told by the Instructors at "The Rock" (beat into my brain). That you could place some items into the cargo door as long as that weight did not exceed, the weight of the items that had been removed. The Instructors always referenced the Troop Door Ladders and other items that had been removed. I know that on some of the special mission birds, the Cargo Doors were stripped of the basic equipment like the ground loading ramps and such so that the special mission equipment could be stored there.

If I remember right. This weight limit was based on the ability of the actuators to open the Cargo Door. Does anyone remember these weight limit? If you have References for these weight that would be great too.

Thanks

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Per the -5, and -9, with 10 seat belts (no limit on number stowed, 1.5lb/piece), y-cables at 3lb (no published weight), the ramp and door guard assembly at 5lb (no published weight) and TPRS at 10lb (no published weight), I read right around 335lb total. Mind you, there were two weights for the ground loading ramps (124/84lb a pair), and troop ladders (32/27lb a pair) in which I used the heavier weights.

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Sorry about getting off the subject of drinking beer (one of my favorite pastimes), but didn't the rescue Hercs have 2 actuators because of the flare tubes in the door and the ODS rails?

BTW, a few cases of San Miguel fit up there pretty well, too. Better than drinking that Black Label out of rusty cans when in Vietnam.

Don R.

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I remember part of a test question had to do with dual snubbers on slicks starting with 72-??. That's the part I forget.

The Loadmaster preflight talks about checking the cargo door contents, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't give any guidance on what should/shouldn't be back there. That sounds like an Addenda-A question, but I'm not sure it's there either.

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I remember part of a test question had to do with dual snubbers on slicks starting with 72-??. That's the part I forget.

The first production Herk with dual actuators for the cargo door was 72-1288 if memory serves. I have many hours on her with the 374 TAW / 21 TAS in the late 80s.

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Okay, here's something that comes to mind, it seems to me that, on the E's I flew, mostly 61 to 63, to close the cargo, first you raised if, using the switches, then pulled the up-lock release and then lowered it, right???? I know that you could raise the ramp a bit by putting the manual valve to raise ( the ramp) and then dropping the door, which allowed some pressure to, I guess, cross-feed to the ramp valve??? Or did I just imagine all this??? also, if the ramp and door was closed from the cockpit, how was the door up-lock overridden????

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Giz wasn't that a recomdation if you were closing the door manuly to take the pressure off the up-lock.As far as the contents in the door compatments was to make shure there was enuff chain,binders and cargo straps for the mission at hand. Imagine my surprize when I saw two of the 10,000lbs chains at the local flee market.(no way you ever forget the hooks at the end of the chains.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Okay, help me remember. In the door compartments, I remember the troop steps, the short round-tops loading ramps, the long vehicle ground loading ramps, and bins with straps in them I do not ever remember chains normally stored in the door. I can't remember anything else, at least standard stuff. It seems to me that the second set of anchor cables were stowed on reels and mounted on brackets on the side of the ramp and door area. Also, weren't the jump platforms carried overhead somewhere?? Now ya gotta remember I was playing with this big old bird back from 70 to 74, so some of the more modern stuff may be different..

Giz

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Okay, help me remember. In the door compartments, I remember the troop steps, the short round-tops loading ramps, the long vehicle ground loading ramps, and bins with straps in them I do not ever remember chains normally stored in the door. I can't remember anything else, at least standard stuff. It seems to me that the second set of anchor cables were stowed on reels and mounted on brackets on the side of the ramp and door area. Also, weren't the jump platforms carried overhead somewhere?? Now ya gotta remember I was playing with this big old bird back from 70 to 74, so some of the more modern stuff may be different..

Giz

About right. Nowadays it seems to be unit dependent but its mostly aux ground loading ramps, some extra straps, seatbelts, TPRS, Y cables, and other small stuff. Not much big stuff gets chucked up there anymore and I think most birds have the truck loading ramps removed (from the ramp area sidewall) CONUS for weight/fuel savings. Those things are HEAVY.

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About right. Nowadays it seems to be unit dependent but its mostly aux ground loading ramps, some extra straps, seatbelts, TPRS, Y cables, and other small stuff. Not much big stuff gets chucked up there anymore and I think most birds have the truck loading ramps removed (from the ramp area sidewall) CONUS for weight/fuel savings. Those things are HEAVY.

Ya know, come to think of it, I think those truck loading ramps WERE on the side. I'm talking about the things maybe three feet long, sort of dome topped, and yes heavy as hell. Trying to remember what the Y-cables were,,

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In SEA '68-'69 &'70 at least, I used the vehicle off loading ramps for speed offloading pallets a lot... (as well as load/unload all kinds of vehicles, including APC's, off course...) & I do remember these ramps being stored in the door & they were HEAVY and could play heck with your fingers gettin them out of the door... (I'd have real trouble now at '66' moving them around...)...Anyways, when we anticipated speed off loading, or, we had vehicles on board I would leave the ramps hooked up to the ramp standin tall and run a tie down strap around them...Depending on the stops, I usually pulled them out of the door before leaving CRB on the days'(or nite's) shuttle... Sometimes, I would use them on pax runs, depending on how much baggage was going on the ramp & Medi-Vac always (tho, with KIAs, when pickin them up I'd use the ramps but the Mortuary Guys at Danang for the Marines came out with an 'ambulance' jeep usually & CRB, for Army w/ a 6X; then the ramps got in the way...) ...I kinda found the ramps to be kinda multi-purpose... (esp for speed off loading!)... Kinda like the Wood Chocks!)....Then, there were the married pallets and just a RT forklift...They went on easy....

Edited by Chuck
mispelling
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Yea, you've definitely got to watch your fingers when pulling the ground loading ramps out or putting them back in their storage compartment. I flew with a guy once that (later) cut off his pinkie finger doing said operations. Luckily, there was a medical team on board that was able to get him patched up enough that he was able to keep the finger.

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Not trying to be a jerk, but being a Repair & Reclamation guy, I know too well there is no actual limit for the door. However, posted in the model specific -5 are the items that are supposed to be in there, and nothing else. Because of this issue, I'm sure the experienced/mature loadmasters have seen this happen before:[ATTACH=CONFIG]3879[/ATTACH]

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