How low does the temperature of the hold get to when unheated in aircraft?

Answer 1

in an unheated cargo hold in an aircraft the temperature will by very close to the outside ambient air temperature. As an aircraft climbs the air temperature goes down. At altitudes above 15,000 feet temperatures can easily be well below freezing. At 30,000 feet the temperature will be well below 0 F even on a bright sunny day.

Answer 2

In modern commercial aircraft, all cargo holds are pressurized and heated - or else your toothpaste would burst and then freeze. People have stowed away in cargo holds many times with no harm done. However, the cargo holds are not heated to the extent of the passenger cabin because this would burn more fuel and be a waste of energy. The cargo holds generally maintain a temperature of about 60 F.

The exception is in the compartment were live animals are held. (the cargo holds are divided by walls to prevent luggage from shifting and to isolate fires) If the pilot is informed that an animal is being shipped on this flight (ie. your dog) then she has the option of turning the heat up in that section to a more comfortable 70 F.

The really danger to shipped animals is not the cold, but rather the extreme heat in the metal cargo holds while the aircraft is on the ground in the summer.

Answer 3

Quite chilly but no where near the -50 outside air temp as others have posed! On hot summer days when you open the bins on a 737 it may be in the 40s or 50s in the rear bin while the forward will be in the 70s.

RE: Cargo "Heater"
Many aircraft DO NOT have heater for the cargo compartment!

For example, on the Boeing 737 the cargo bins have NO temperature control but are warmed by exhausting cabin air around their walls as the it is recirculated via the AC & pressurization system inside the aircraft. Read about it under "cargo" here-
http://www.b737.org.uk/aircraft_general.htm

RE: Live animals
In most aircraft there is a specific cargo compartment where animals are to be placed. For example, in the Boeing 737 they are placed in the forward cargo. In addition to the comfortable cabin air that is circulated, the electronics compartment under the cockpit with all it's VERY WARM avionics vents into the forward cargo bin thereby heating it even further.
Read about it- http://www.b737.org.uk/airconditioning.htm

Answer 4

The temperature at 37,000 above eath

Answer 5

Wow, a wide range of answers. My personal experience is with 747's. Only the rear cargo hold can be heated, There's 2 settings. one for animals and a lower temp for fruits, vegetables and flowers.

I don't know exactly how cold it gets but I don't think liquids in luggage will freeze because they're insulated in the suitcase and containers in an insulated cargo hold.

But if water leaks and sits on the bottom inside the cargo hold it'll freeze. We also install the gear down lock pins that are stored in the main electronic compartment. When we remove them just after a flight they have frost on them. So I assume that the lower part of the cargo compartment is colder.

Answer 6

The outside air temperature at 30,000 feet is typically between about -30F and -60F. The inside of an unheated cargo hold will probably be close to that. If you go to:

http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/Winds/Aloft.cgi

you can get forecasts of the temperature and winds at various altitudes over various cities.

Answer 7

They are heated. If they were not, the rest of the A/C, passengers and crew, would get rather cold as there is no themal barrier between the cargo hold and the rest of the A/C.
Also, live animals are carried in the cargo deck, they would not like to freeze at the outside temp.

Answer 8

To actually answer your question rather than give you a technology lecture:

When not actively heated, the hold temperatures after about 8 hours flying at altitude are approximately 7 degrees Celsius (45F) or just a bit warmer than your fridge.

Answer 9

To low to survive a free ride as a stowaway.

Answer 10

Typical outside air temp ay 30,000 feet is about -50C, so the hold temp will be close to that.