A special ‘hook’ system designed
by Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ technical
experts to secure heavy
single pieces of air cargo for
transportation has been used
successfully to deliver a 98 tons
hydro turbine motor wheel from
Russia to Kyrgyzstan.

The shipment was transported on December
4th from Saint Petersburg in Russia to
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on board one of Volga-
Dnepr’s AN-124-100 freighters. The turbine
was destined for the Kambartinskaya GES-2
hydro-electric power station, currently under
construction.

The motor wheel measured 6.25 metres in
diameter and was 3.5 metres high. It was
held securely in place during the flight using
the ‘hook’ technology inside the aircraft’s
freight compartment. This is the latest piece of
unique technology developed by Volga-Dnepr
Group’s Technical Director Department for the
carriage of outsize and heavy air cargo.

The delivery process commenced at the end
of November at the Leningrad Metal Plant
where the rotor wheel was produced. The
unique loading equipment was dispatched
from Ulyanovsk to Saint Petersburg by special
transport to allow the rotor wheel to be fixed
within the construction frame and placed onto
a trailer bound for Pulkovo Airport. The 98
tons shipment was carefully loaded onboard
the AN-124 with the help of four lifting cranes
and a special rail system.

The development of the unique loading
system took two months at the Technical
Department’s Ulyanovsk base. The rotor
wheel was fixed at the top of the loading
equipment and fastened with the special
frame. The use of the new technology
provided for uniform distribution of the load
onto the cargo compartment floor and thus
ensured maximum cargo stability.

Vladimir Petrishev, Technical Director of
Volga-Dnepr Airlines, said the transportation
was another record for the Antonov AN-
124-100 with such a heavy shipment being
transported on a hook for the first time ever.
“The construction designed by the Volga-
Dnepr engineers is universal and may be
applied for the transportation of other cargo
types,” added Vicktor Tolmachev, Technical
Director of Volga-Dnepr Group.
  Aviapartner Cargo will provide AirBridgeCargo
with a comprehensive range of services at
the airport, including loading and unloading
of aircraft, pushback and towing, headset,
ground power, de-icing, crew transport, freight
transfer, flight documentation and planning,
crew briefing, weight and balance, load-plan
and load-sheet. Cargo handling services will
incorporate warehousing, ULD build-up and
breakdown, inventory control, documentation
for import and export, customs clearance,
tracing, and dangerous goods handling. It will
also support ABC’s specialist requirements
for the handling of vulnerable products, live
animals and perishables shipments.

Amsterdam Schiphol is key to
AirBridgeCargo’s growth strategy. It operates
Boeing 747 freighters from the airport to
Russia and Asia, providing direct services to
Moscow, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing
almost daily and has plans to increase
frequencies. AirBridgeCargo has positioned
itself as a niche carrier to Russia and through
the continued development of high levels
of service intends to attract more local and
networked support to both Russia and Asia.
  Ludwig Hamburger, Regional Director
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) of
AirBridgeCargo, said: “This decision is in
line with our growth strategy that will ensure
our product matches our customers’ needs
and it is part of the drive to support the next
stage of the company’s development”. ABC’s
Sales and Operations Director EMEA, Neil
Nagarkar, added: “We consider Aviapartner
the ideal choice to support our development
plans and product requirements. I expect
continuous measurable quality from a
handling partner as well as full dedication
in a secured location. This move will ensure
we can further development our customer
partnerships by delivering the high standards
and transparency required by our customers
  today and in the future. Aviapartner and my
team will work hard together to ensure this”.

Heath White, Chief Operating Officer of
Aviapartner Cargo, commented: “We are
delighted that AirBridgeCargo has chosen us
as their business partner in Amsterdam. We
are thrilled to be able to cooperate with one of
the fastest growing cargo airlines in the market
and we strongly believe in their future. This
new contract also illustrates the longstanding
and excellent relationship Aviapartner Cargo
has with the Volga-Dnepr Group, ABC’s
parent. It also confirms our strong quality
position in Amsterdam. We look forward to this
excellent cooperation and would like to thank
AirBridgeCargo for their openness and sincere
support of our operations.”
  This equipment will be used to ensure the
continuous performance of offshore oil
and gas facilities and uninterrupted oil and
gas delivery.

The flight was completed by one of
Volga-Dnepr’s modernized IL-76TD-90VD
freighters as Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport
cannot accommodate larger aircraft such
as the AN-124 freighter. The new version of
the IL-76 was also able to comply with strict
UK noise restrictions, making it the perfect
choice for such a project.
The equipment delivered to Sakhalin will be
used for deep-water research activities up to
60 meters deep. It allows divers to operate
in atmospheric temperature up to -30°C and
water temperature up to -5°C. The Sakhalin-2
Project accounts for 10% of the oil and gas
resources of Sakhalin Island. It is one of the
most favourable projects in terms of foreign
investment and one of the world’s largest oil
and gas projects. Volga-Dnepr Airlines has
already provided multiple services to support
the project, using its broad expertise in the
transportation of oil and gas equipment.
  This 112 tons power station rotor needed to use a
special cradle developed by one of Volga-Dnepr’s
cargo service engineers, Alexander Prokofyev, for
its journey from Leipzig, Germany to Shanghai,
China last month.

The cradle was designed as part of the initial phase of
preparation for the flight and then manufactured by the
customer to fit and secure this cargo inside the aircraft.

In developing a solution for this shipment, the airline’s
Technical Department needed to significantly minimize the
weight of tooling used in the loading/unloading operations.
It was decided to use lightweight tooling and to leave
some ground support equipment at Leipzig Airport after
loading, while advance arrangements for the provision of
such equipment to be available on arrival in China were
made in Shanghai.

This meant that only three tons of support tooling had to
be carried onboard the AN-124 freighter instead of the
usual 10-12 tons, reducing the total weight to a minimum.
  A new production line for a glass
manufacturing factory in Saratov, Russia
operated by SaratovStroySteklo has been
transported onboard one of Volga-Dnepr
Airline’s AN-124’s from Amsterdam to
Ulyanovsk.

The 80 tons shipment was carried by the
airline on November 27th 2008. Special
loading equipment was used in Amsterdam
to load the cargo into the AN-124 Ruslan’s
giant cargo hold. From Ulyanovsk, the
production line was forwarded to Saratov.

The cargo actually began its journey in
China, arriving in Europe by sea on a
Hanjin vessel after nearly a month on the
ocean. Volga-Dnepr organized for the
production line to be moved from Hamburg
port to Amsterdam and, using its unique
freighter aircraft, was able to complete the
final leg of the shipment’s journey to Russia
within hours.
 

Volga-Dnepr has completed a series of eight flights
from Novosibirsk to Narita, Tokyo, carrying large 10-ton
electromagnets for a research institute in Japan.

The airline carried up to three magnets on
each IL-76TD-90VD flight as well as
other equipment. The magnets will
ultimately be mounted onto high-tech
synchrotron accelerators that are used
to help with the painless cure of cancer.

Each magnet measured 385 x 130 x 109 cms. They were
loaded onboard the aircraft using the IL-76TD-90VD’s
internal crane system. The final flight took place
on December 6th 2008.

This project is another example of the
value of Volga-Dnepr’s modernised
IL-76TD-90VD, which are
approved for worldwide
operations.
 

Now we’re giving you the chance to win a great prize
in our BIGNEWS Quiz of 2008. All you have to do is
email the answers to the following questions to
marketing@volga-dnepr.co.uk

The questions all relate to articles published in BIGNEWS
over the past year. The winner of our competition will be
announced in the next issue of the newsletter. The closing date for entries is January 16th 2009. Good luck!