PACAVI Group Airbus A320 passenger-to-­freighter conversion program progressing on schedule

The PACAVI Group is moving forward with the supplemental type certificate (STC) development for their first-to-market Airbus A320/A321 passenger-to-freighter conversion. PACAVI Group CEO Dr. Stephan Hollmann commented on the program’s status: “Our STC program, started in January 2015, is progressing on schedule, as well as the conversion of our prototype A320 Freighter LITE at the HAITEC facility in Frankfurt/Hahn, Germany,” he said. “After we have performed the Preliminary Design Review in December, we now have successfully completed the first pre-modification tests. As we move on with these tests, a Critical Design Review will take place in just a few weeks from now,” explains Jens Strahmann, PACAVI’s Vice President Product Certification, Quality Assurance, Tests & Evaluation and former Head of Test at Airbus Engineering Bremen, Germany. The PACAVI Airbus A320 Freighter LITE will carry up to 21 metric tons of cargo, flying routes of nearly 3,200 nautical miles, depending on load weight (2,300 nm at structural limit). The Freighter LITE conversion program includes a new 140-inch main deck cargo door, a Class E cargo interior, a 9G barrier and a manual cargo loading system. A typical configuration would accommodate up to 10 88-inch x 125-inch x 82-inch unit load devices (ULDs) or pallets, and one smaller container or 88-inch x 61.5-inch pallet, resulting in a main deck container volume of about 3,860 cubic feet. The A320 Freighter LITE can also accommodate containerized freight in the aircraft’s belly holds, a unique capability among competing narrowbody freighters, adding a lower deck cargo volume of 1,322 cubic feet.