Reference
MDP
Sixteen-foot pallet for the main deck. The IATA code, rate class, weights, volume and aircraft fit are below.
- IATA code
- PRA 16-ft pallet with net
- Code prefixes
- PMA, P4A, P4M, and PZA
- Rate class
- Type 1P
- Aircraft it fits
- 747F, 747 Combi, 777F
- Max gross weight
- 11,300 kg (24,911 lb)
- Empty weight
- 410 kg (904 lb)
- AS1825 volume
- 27.6 m³ (974 ft³)
How the MDP is used
A sixteen-foot main-deck pallet with a net, built to the PRA code and rated Type 1P.
Rated to 11,300 kg with 27.6 m³ of build-up volume. Being shorter than the twenty-foot M-6, it drops more easily into a mixed main-deck plan while still carrying close to the same weight.
Cargo it usually takes
How this family is arranged
- A sixteen-foot main-deck pallet, with cargo held by a net.
- A flat aluminium sheet base with hardened edge rails that lock into the aircraft restraint system.
- Cargo is built on the base and held by a net pulled onto the edge rails.
- A contoured build follows the hold profile. A squared-off build uses the full main-deck height.
- Wing variants add hinged or fixed-angle side extensions for cargo that hangs past the base.
Why operators pick it
- It takes cargo of almost any shape, because nothing encloses it.
- Empty weight is the lightest of any ULD for that footprint, so more of the allowance goes to cargo.
- Empty units stack flat, which keeps the cost of moving them back down.
Settle these points before you book
- The cargo is open and the net is the only restraint, so the quality of the build-up decides whether the load arrives whole.
- The finished load has to match the hold contour or it will not fit.
- Nets and edge rails wear. Both are checked before the unit is accepted.