US-based Utilicraft Aerospace Industrieshas begun its campaign to solicitpre-production sales and leasing ordersfor the FF-1080-300ER freight feederaircraft.

Initial discussions have begun withseveral unsolicited international carriersbased in the Middle East, Africaand India – all rapidly expanding aircargo markets.

The FF-1080-300ER Freight Feederaircraft satisfies an industry-recognisedneed to cost effectively feed containerisedair cargo to the major hubs of thescheduled passenger carriers and theovernight express airlines.

The aircraft is also designed for shorttake-off and landing (STOL) capability.This feature makes the FF-1080-300ERthe only short-haul, heavy-lift containerisedfeeder aircraft capable of costeffectivelytransporting ten revenuetons over two thousand nautical milesfrom airfields with less than 3,500 feetof runway, expanding air cargo capacityto many smaller cities and airportsworldwide.

In related news, Utilicraft recentlycompleted initial testing of the airbornecomponent its ETA electronicfreight tracking system, which integratescurrently available components,automatically accumulates and transmitsreal-time information on cargohandled by the aircraft to the carrier’saircraft dispatch and freight managementcentre.