Boeing

Boeing (NYSE: BA) has named Germany's Telair International, a Teleflex company, to design and manufacture the cargo handling system for the 747 Large Cargo Freighter, a specially modified 747-400 jet that will transport major assemblies for the all-new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The system's design features "intelligent" Power Drive Units (PDUs) networked through a control system that allows them to communicate with one another. This enables a safe and non-labor-intensive loading and unloading of the aircraft as well as simplifying system maintenance. The Large Cargo Freighter's unique design features an entire aft fuselage that swings open for loading.

"Transporting the large composite structures of the Dreamliner requires a cargo-handling solution unlike any other," said 787 Vice President of Airplane Production Scott Strode. "Telair's state-of-the-art system is critical to accommodating these exceptional payload lengths and loads."

"Meeting this challenge requires first-of-its-kind hardware and systems controls that will take our design and materials approaches to an even higher technical level," said Telair President Axel Hauner.

Boeing will use three Large Cargo Freighters as the primary means of transporting major 787 assemblies to its Everett, Wash., final assembly site from partners around the world. Telair's cargo handling system will be installed during the airplanes' modification by Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation in Taiwan.