New MIL-STD-1791 B USAF Cargo design

MIL-STD-1791, “Designing for Internal Aerial Delivery in Fixed Wing Aircraft,” has just been revised.  The new Revision B is available from Document Center Inc. in paper format, for pdf download, or as part of our multi-user online subscription service.  This document has gone through a series of revisions and redesignations.  We’ll discuss it’s history and why it is called out in U.S. government contracts.

The MIL-STD-1791 was developed to assist vendors and purchasing agents so that cargo design could accommodate the needs of the USAF in assuring safety during transport in fixed wing aircraft.  It is a compendium of design requirements and operating limits from the various aircraft loading manuals and other technical publications.  It also has other useful air transport information.

It was first released in 1985. However in 1997, it was cancelled and republished as a MIL Handbook.  This meant that the various requirements were not binding, but only to be used as guidelines.  Oddly as it seems, this renumbering left the MIL-HDBK-1791 with a date of 12/14/1997 and two change notices with earlier dates, having been ported over from the MIL-STD without any further changes.

In November 2012, the document again went through a renumbering phase, this time taking it back to the status of a MIL-STD.  This new Revision A was issued as a classified document, which meant that it was not available for public distribution.  Finally in June, 2014, an administrative notice reverted the document to Distribution Statement A status, no restrictions on distribution.

The recent release of the Revision B for MIL-STD-1791 is a complete technical update.  You will not find notations in the margins to guide you to areas where revisions have taken place.  As a standard, the document is now available to be called out in contracts and must be adhered to as part of the agreement.  It provides the user with the general design and performance requirements of USAF developed or off-the-shelf cargo used for internal air transport.  And it also covers the procedure for certifying outsized or unusual cargo as well.

Should you need a copy of this 373-page standard, just go to the Document Center webstore at www.document-center.com.  Or contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).  We got our start distributing Mil-Specs and Standards so we’re very familiar with these documents and their usage.  Make us your Standards Experts!

 

Published by

Claudia Bach

Claudia Bach is the President of Document Center Inc. and a world-wide recognized expert on Standards and Standards Distribution. You can connect with her on Google+

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *