In the aircraft industry, it is often necessary for the engines of an aircraft to be removed for inspection or repair. These aircraft engines are perhaps the most critical assembly of an aircraft which must be maintained in a high state of repair. Regular and rigorous maintenance must be performed on the engines which also require thorough inspections. Accordingly, it may be necessary to remove these engines from the wing or fuselage of an aircraft so that the engine can undergo the required inspection or repairs.
Some prior art devices exist for securing and transporting a jet engine that has been removed from an aircraft. One example of a prior art device is found in commonly assigned prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,512. This reference discloses a shipping stand including a cradle assembly mounted upon a frame assembly to which a jet aircraft engine is securable. A plurality of shock absorbers are operatively engaged between the cradle assembly and frame assembly to provide adequate shock protection to a loaded jet aircraft engine. A plurality of lifting mechanisms selectively raise the cradle assembly to selected predetermined heights. Depending upon the selected height, the cradle may be placed in either a truck transport mode or air transport mode. Spacers are provided to place the shipping stand in a truck transport mode, and said spacers are removed in order to place the shipping stand in an air transport mode.
While this prior art device and others may be adequate for their intended purposes, one significant shortfall is that none of these prior art devices provide a shipping system which may be configured for either the truck transport of a Trent 800 aircraft engine, or the air transport of that engine in a Boeing 747 aircraft. The Boeing 747 aircraft is one of the most commercially available aircraft which may be used to haul the engines of other aircraft due to its large cargo hold. As further explained below, the invention described herein is a multi-purpose stand alone system which may configure the Trent 800 jet engine for either truck or air transport, and further allows the engine to be readily mounted or removed from the aircraft.