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. The PACAVI Airbus A320 Freighter LITE will carry up to 21 tonnes of cargo, flying routes of nearly 3,200 nautical miles, depending on load weight (2,300 nm at structural limit).

PACAVI Group CEO Stephan Hollmann commenting on the programme’s status said:  “Our STC programme, 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 VP Product Certification, Quality Assurance, Tests & Evaluation and former head of Test at Airbus Engineering Bremen, Germany.

The Freighter LITE conversion programme 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 (109 cubic metres).

The A320 Freighter LITE can also accommodate containerised 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 (37.4 cubic metres).

The PACAVI Group specialises in sales and leasing of aircraft, STC programme management, aircraft conversion engineering and related activities with offices are in San Diego, California and Bremen, Germany.