Method of providing access and egress to an open cockpit of an aircraft

A method of providing access or egress to a cockpit of an aircraft using a ladder having a longitudinal axis and a transverse direction perpendicular thereto, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an extendable ladder having a plurality of hingedly connected rung plates, each rung plate having opposed hinge edges with hinges generally parallel to the transverse direction and being configured to fanfold the plurality of rung plates into a footprint, each rung plate having a hole therethrough, a first rung plate hingedly joinable to a second rung plate of the plurality of rung plates and an attachment means for joining the first rung plate to an anchor and adapted to removably suspend the ladder outside the aircraft, the extendable ladder being foldable to lie withing a footprint of the first rung plate;
• disposing the ladder proximate the aircraft;
• extending the ladder to be longitudinally elongate;
• and
• removably suspending the ladder from the aircraft so that a person can climb into or out of the cockpit.

A method of providing access or egress to a cockpit of an aircraft using a ladder having a longitudinal axis and a transverse direction perpendicular thereto, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an extendable ladder having a plurality of hingedly connected rung plates, each rung plate having opposed hinge edges with hinges generally parallel to the transverse direction and being configured to fanfold the plurality of rung plates into a footprint, each rung plate having a hole therethrough, a first rung plate hingedly joinable to a second rung plate of the plurality of rung plates and an attachment means for joining the first rung plate to an anchor and adapted to removably suspend the ladder outside the aircraft, the extendable ladder being foldable to lie withing a footprint of the first rung plate;
• disposing the ladder proximate the aircraft;
• extending the ladder to be longitudinally elongate;
• removably suspending the ladder from the aircraft so that a person can climb into or out of the cockpit;
• and
• removing the ladder from the aircraft.