Patent ID: 7887011

Claim:
An apparatus for carrying airborne cargo, the apparatus comprising: (a) a support frame suspended from an aircraft and including a top panel; (b) a retaining mechanism arranged on the support frame configured to engage a cargo carrier; (c) a collapsible nose cone coupled to a front end of the support frame; (d) a lower structural frame coupled to the nose cone; (e) flexible side panels, each side panel being connected to corresponding sides of the support frame and lower structural frame and coupled to the nose cone; and (f) a cargo door mounted on the lower structural frame, (g) wherein the nose cone, top panel, and side panels, when arranged with the nose cone collapsed, the side panels folded, and the cargo door open, enable the support frame and the cargo carrier to be relatively positioned in a secured-together fashion with the retaining mechanism engaged, and (h) wherein the nose cone, top panel, side panels, and cargo door, when arranged with the nose cone expanded, the side panels unfolded, and the cargo door closed, substantially envelop the cargo carrier secured to the support frame within an aerodynamic enclosure.