Cargo Division

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Noble Air (Gatwick Hub) Cargo Division. This area - designed specifically for our new Cargo Service - will hopefully give you, our members, yet another option to fly off to parts of the world that may not be covered by our already superb and comprehensive routing schedules. The variation of flights that will become available may be for civilian relief, military assist, or just plain getting the beers in !

The Airbus A380F, Boeing 747-400F, Boeing 747-341F, Boeing C-17 Globemaster, Boeing 767-300ER, MD-11, DC8-62F, Boeing 727-200F, L100-30 and the B1900D;  our extensive fleet of cargo liners are an important and integral part of this airline - workhorses in their own right.

This being a new and developing area, it will be expanded over the coming weeks and months to encompass the Globe and take you off to some well known and not so well known airports. What you will see in our routing download area is just the beginning of a fully comprehensive plan of routes that will be regionalised globally and to which we hope you will indulge and enjoy.

The plan is to release cargo schedules regionally - Europe being the first.  This will be followed, though not necessarily in order, by North America, South America, Asia, Africa, The Middle East, The Far East and of course Australasia/Oceania.  So if you have a particular favourite that may wish to see included, do please contact initially either Bob Mumford and Kevin Hardy or any member of the Hub management team and we shall see what can be done.

The first thing that you will notice on downloading the schedules is that all the flights originate from and ultimately terminate at EGMH Manston, Kent (also known as Kent International).  Manston is a rapidly growing airport that specialises in handling cargo from all around the globe - hence we thought it appropriate to adopt this site as a satellite to Gatwick. 

 Notwithstanding that however, all communication, downloads, information et al will be posted/announced here at the Gatwick Hub.

THE FLEET

The cargo fleet can be categorised thus :

Category One – Short Haul :

Beechcraft B1900D

Category Two – Medium Haul :

Boeing 727-200F, Lockheed L100-30

Airbus A380F, Boeing 747-400F, Boeing 747-341F, Boeing 767-300ER, Boeing C-17 Globemaster, Boeing/Douglas MD-11, Boeing/Douglas DC8-62F 

The fleet is continually being upgraded and built upon with announcements being posted in the Lounge periodically.

HOW DOES IT WORK ?

Very simply !  

The schedules are very similar to the other route schedules of this Hub, though with a few differences;

The departure flight codes are unique to this service, either NCA-****  or  NCR-****

All times shown are Zulu and the ‘Estimated Flight Time’ is given purely as a guide-line.   This is because during compilation of the routes, a high degree of standardisation was involved.  Primarily, the Boeing 727-200F was used at specific altitudes and speeds (though always using 'real weather') to compile each route.  We then added an extra segment of time to allow for pre- and post-flight checks.  Where it was impractical to use the 727, the Boeing C17 was used in its stead.  On shorter hops, the B1900D was used.

And why are the times shown only a guide ?  Simple, because the Aircraft Category is chosen by you and it's entirely up to you if you like to do the flight checks.  If you don't, and you just want to fly say, the DC8, the flight time could be "X".  If you do prefer to run your flight checks and fly the L100, then the flight times are going to be somewhat longer than "X".  And this is where you get to do a little bit of ground work over and above whatever you already may, or may not, do.  You will have to check that the destination is capable of taking the aircraft you had planned (or hoped !) on using.   Marvin wouldn't be very pleased if you tried to put a 747 down on a 6,000ft runway !  All we do ask of you is that you enter into the spirit of the enterprise and use the aircraft specific to the Cargo fleet.

Cargo schedules, although obviously very important, are here a little more "relaxed" on their timings and we feel that on long-haul flights you are encouraged to break the flight with as many or as few stops as you wish – so if you fancy taking the run down to Christchurch N.Z., feel free to stop a couple of times en route. If you choose to do this, you are requested to mention in the ‘Comments’ section of your flight reports any and all stops that you make.  If you decide to put down at an airport that is challenging, or scenic or just different in any way, perhaps you'd let us know and it could be included in future routes. However, if you wish to do a long-haul in one hit - go for it !

You will find a more comprehensive breakdown of the flight rules via the 'Cargo Route Schedules & Links' button located below.

As with all the flights here at the Gatwick Hub – we sincerely hope that you enjoy this variation. If you have any suggestions and/or requests for specific changes or additions, do please let us know so that we may give consideration to add, change or delete as necessary.

Above all – please enjoy.

Bob Mumford      &      Kevin Hardy

B747-400F - Noble Cargo Flagship

Original page construction by and dedicated to Oliver J. Hardy