Klarinet Archive - Posting 000196.txt from 2007/10

From: "Ronald Coleman" <ron.coleman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] New Product for Oiling Grenadilla Wood
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:45:13 -0400

While it is true that all baggage compartments are heated it is not always
true that they are "climate controlled like the rest of the aircraft".

Depending on the particular aircraft, airline procedures, status of deferred
maintenance items and/or the actions of the crew on a particular segment the
temperatures in cargo areas may vary widely - from just above freezing to
near the same temp as the main cabin. And don't forget that items may sit on
a ramp for an hour or two during loading/unloading.

I currently fly a B777 on long-haul operations (12-16 hours) for a major US
airline. Our standard procedure is to leave the cargo heat seat to "high" -
but even so the temperatures in some areas can drop to around 50 degrees.
And if we were to select a lower setting the temperatures would definitely
be lower.

Even on short segments (1 hour or less) some aircraft baggage holds can drop
well below what we would consider room temperatures.

UPS and FEDEX (as well as other "cargo" carriers) use pressurized aircraft
configured for all cargo. Since much of the cargo is carried inside what
would normally be a passenger cabin area the temperatures are likely to be
close to normal. But both UPS and FEDEX also fly a variety of smaller
aircraft and even contract out to third parties (especially during holidays
such as Christmas). In other words, there is no way to know what type of
vehicle may be carrying the goods. It may be possible to pay for special
handling (to ensure that a package is never exposed to extreme temps) but I
have never asked that question.

Ronald Coleman
Airline Transport Pilot

ron.coleman@-----.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Forest Aten [mailto:forestaten@-----.com]
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 4:35 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: RE: [kl] New Product for Oiling Grenadilla Wood

Commercial aircraft holds are not any colder than the passenger area.

They are climate controlled as is the rest of the aircraft.

Forest Aten

------------------------------------------------------------------