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The Lockheed 100 Hercules / The Freight-Shaped Freighter

There are two ways to open a cargo plane. The hard way and the logical way. The hard way is to place your door on the side. That way, everything you try to cram in or out has to be lifted up or down by costly ground support. Even worse, it must turn a 90° corner and be strictly limited in bulk and length. A plane that opens on the end is way ahead. Its ramp can adjust to truck-bed or ground level. Loading and unloading is quick and simple. Straight in and straight out. An oversized cargo that won’t begin to fit into other planes can easily come on board. A cargo plane that opens like this is worth looking into. It’s called the Lockheed 100 Hercules, one in a family of air freighters, built by Lockheed-Georgia Company, Marietta, Georgia.