Load a Boeing 747 freighter
Three cargo-loading puzzles use a clearly simplified deck to teach door choice, space, weight allowance and the effect of moving cargo fore, aft and between sides.
The 747 freighter's raised flight deck leaves room for a cargo door in the nose. Pallets can also enter through the main-deck side door. Choosing the opening is only the start: the load must fit, stay within its weight allowances and be distributed appropriately.
Can you fit and balance the load?
Teaching model: 12 positions, a fictional 12-tonne cargo allowance and 4-tonne limit per position. The real 747-400F has layouts with 30 main-deck pallet positions. This puzzle uses invented balance zones and excludes aircraft weight, fuel, floor limits, restraint and operational loading procedures.
Load all four pallets. Keep heavy pieces spread fore and aft, and balance left against right.
Cargo waiting to load
Select a cargo card, then select an empty position. You can also drag a card onto the deck. Select an occupied position to unload it.
Nose door · forward
Aft · tail
Side door
What the real aircraft can carry
Boeing's 747-400F cargo-arrangement sheet shows 30 main-deck positions for 96 × 125-inch pallets, approximately 2.44 × 3.18 metres. Its door chart gives a main-deck side opening approximately 3.40 metres wide and 3.12 metres high, while the nose opening has a shaped clearance profile. The actual cargo contour and the ability to manoeuvre a load matter as well as the nominal opening.
The nose door provides a straight route for certain long items. A side opening may require the cargo to turn after entering. Passenger-to-freighter conversions differ: the 747-400BCF uses side-door loading rather than the factory freighter's nose door.
About the puzzle model
The game compresses the deck into twelve marked positions. Its 12-tonne total allowance, 4-tonne position allowance and balance zones are invented teaching rules. The balance calculation considers the cargo pieces alone and shares a long crate's weight equally between its two positions. Real calculations include the empty aircraft, fuel, lower-deck load, restraint, position-specific floor limits and approved weight-and-balance data.
Try moving a heavy pallet from the front to the rear and watching the feedback change. The long-crate exercise treats the nose door as its permitted entrance; it is an illustrative turning problem rather than a measured cargo-clearance calculation.
Explore the 747-400F, 747 freighter specifications and how the 747's systems work.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the primary and institutional references below.
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