Patent ID: 7493684

Claim:
A method of connecting an article to an exterior area of an aircraft comprising the steps of: providing aircraft loading apparatus including a frame removably attachable to the aircraft, the frame being constructed for assembly and disassembly in one of an attached position and a transitional position, the frame includes side members separated by cross-members, the cross-members removably attached to the side members, the frame is removably attachable to the aircraft by means of fingers attached to the side members in a horizontally extending orientation, and at least one raising and lowering mechanism affixed to the frame, the mechanism including a pair of belts with free ends attachable to form a sling, the pair of belts and associated mechanism being connected for simultaneous extension or retraction of equal lengths of each belt; attaching the frame of the aircraft loading apparatus adjacent the area of the aircraft at which the article is to be connected; positioning the article under the frame; extending the belts around opposite sides of the article and attaching the free ends of the belts to form a sling around the article; activating the raising and lowering mechanism to simultaneously retract equal lengths of each belt of the pair of belts to raise the article into a connecting position; connecting the article to the exterior area of the aircraft; and disassembling the frame of the aircraft loading apparatus into a removable configuration and removing the frame from the aircraft.