Air bearing facilitating load/unload of a magnetic read/write head

An air bearing surface having a proximal and a distal end defining there between a length and having a pair of lateral sides, the air bearing surface comprising:

• a first and a second lateral rail extending from a point near said proximal end and terminating at a point short of said distal end, and defining there between a channel having a distal end;
• a cavity formed between the first and second rails and having a proximal edge connected with the distal end of the channel at a predetermined distance from the proximal end of the air bearing surface, the predetermined distance being at least 10 percent of the length of the air bearing surface;
• a first and second leading edge pad formed on said first and second lateral rail near said proximal end;
• a first and second center pad formed on said first and second lateral rail respectively;
• a central trailing edge pad generally centrally disposed between said lateral sides toward said distal end of said air bearing surface, and
• a first and second rear pad disposed at a distal end of said lateral first and second rails respectively, wherein said first and second lateral rails further comprise a first and a second relatively narrow bridge portion extending from said first and second center pad to said first and second rear pad respectively.