Ernest H. Robl stock photos:
Air Cargo

This page supplements my introductory Aviation & military page and my Miscellaneous transportation page.

Click on the images on this page for larger versions.

This image and the one at right show both the containers and the equipment used to move and lift the containers.

Aircraft containers are also called "unit load devices and are often referred to by the initials ULD in the transportation business.

These images are from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina.

The airport is a major hub not only for passenger aircrat but also for several cargo airlines.

 

For more information about the equipment depicted, see the larger versions of these images.

Though I am best known for my photography of railroads, I also photograph and keep up with many other modes of transportation.

For all such modes, I can not only provide technically accurate caption information but can also write at length about these subjects for magazines or books.

 

More about aircraft containers or ULDs

Aircraft containers are used to speed the loading and unloading of aircraft and to minimize the ground time for these expensive planes.

These types of containers are also used to load both baggage and air cargo onto passenger aircraft.

Though not typically considered "intermodal containers," ULDs may well also move by highway in enclosed highway trucks. Though these containers are often loaded at airport cargo facilities, they may also be loaded or unloaded at facilities some distance from an airport, particularly if a customer fills an entire container with items going from the same point of origin to the same destination.

Use of aircraft containers is discussed briefly in my book. Understanding Intermodal. (Click on the preceding link to view more information about this book.)