Ilyushin Il-76 Deployed to Transport Three Aero-Derivative Gas Turbines
Houston-headquartered UTC Overseas spared no effort to ensure a batch of aero-derivative gas turbines were swiftly dispatched from Egypt to the US city of Chicago.
The three units weighing 13 tonnes a piece and measuring 5.5 metres in length were collected from Cairo and Sharm el Sheikh and flown on an Ilyushin Il-76 – a wide-body cargo plane with a payload capacity of 50 tonnes – to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
The turbines were shipped in specialized shipping cans – hard, heavy-duty protective cases designed to move power generation equipment.
.jpeg)
In Egypt, the empty cans were placed onto trailers using four lifting eyes. Once the turbines were loaded, the lifting procedure was adjusted to include a lifting bar and lashing to support the weight of the components. The cans were then pumped with nitrogen to displace oxygen, and sealed.
The Il-76 was selected by UTC due to its size and onboard equipment, which includes expanding loading ramps on the tail cargo door, two electric winches in the cabin and four electric hoists with a pulling capacity of 10 tonnes. UTC worked alongside Silkway Airlines to devise the loading and unloading plan.
In Chicago, the flight crew’s time constraints meant the project had just two hours to unload all the cargo, with UTC’s air charter team on the ground to oversee operations.
“Prior to the units landing, specialized trucks, airport storage, forklifts, security, ex-rays, airport clearance, and a myriad of other tasks were coordinated and ready. Proper paperwork, permits, certificates, and inspections were key to keeping the operation running swiftly,” UTC said.
UTC then coordinated the last mile transport to multiple destinations to support power station operations in the region.
“UTC provided a variety of services critical to the success of this project: customs, engineering, air freight, ground transportation, rigging, and more,” the company said. “Despite the time-sensitive nature of this project, our international team had the know-how and boots on the ground to execute this plan to our customer's satisfaction.”
UTC Overseas will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Europe 2023, taking place on 6-8 June at Rotterdam Ahoy. Click here to reserve your tickets, then come meet the UTC team in Hall 1, Stand 1K30 (Freight Forwarder Zone).
