MODULAR AIRCRAFT

A modular aircraft or pod plane is a design principle for an aircraft where the payload carrying section can be routinely detached from, and reattached to, the rest of the aircraft. It can be compared to the function of intermodal shipping containers.

One advantage of an aircraft with such a configuration is that the loading and unloading processes can be greatly accelerated; instead of emptying a plane of its payload and then reloading, the entire payload can be swapped out as a single action. This approach also allows for an aircraft to be rapidly changed between different configurations, such as to carry different cargoes, passengers, or specialised equipment payloads. So-called 'pod planes' can be divided into two main sections: the flying component that consists of the airframe, cockpit and engines; and the detachable pods, which would contain the cabin or cargo hold. The flying component and the individual capsules can be detached from each other and combined in different ways. Several experimental aircraft have flown to trial the concept, but this modular approach has remained in limited use at best through to the present day.

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