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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2032.PDF
PLIGHT, 5 October 1951 463 CIVIL AVIATION APPEARANCE of aircraft, as typified here by a smartly turned-out B.O.A.C. Hermes in full livery, is but one of the many aspects of airline operation in which the aid of the modern indus- trial designer is enlisted. AIR TRANSPORT AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN THE application of industrial-design techniques to the manu-facture and operation of civil airliners was discussed in twopapers delivered before the 1951 Design Congress (held atthe Royal College of Arts in London on September i9th/2oth) by two well-known airline executives. They were Mr. C. H. Jack- son, B.Sc, D.I.C., of B.O.A.C., and Dr. Albert Plesman, of K.L.M. We reproduce their papers in summarized form. Mr. Jackson, by way of introduction, said that industrial design was often regarded as an issue of sales and public relations rather than one of engineering policy, and that this was particularly true in civil aviation. He described the particular problems of design in this industry and the considerations, both technical and com- mercial, by which the designer is bounded. Since, he said, the product sold by B.O.A.C. was somewhat intangible compared with any manufactured article, the application of industrial design could not readily be classified and centralized. B.O.A.C.'s "products" were "a seat and a journey" for which the customers' primary requirements were comfort and good service together with "the nearest approach to the Euclidian simplicity of the shortest, and cheapest, distance between two points." Since international agreements had eliminated most competition by price, companies competed mainly on reliability of schedule keeping, effectiveness of advertising and efficiency, and the general attractiveness of passenger service. In such a situation, good industrial design could be an almost decisive competitive factor. Describing the evolution of design policy, Mr. Jackson pointed out that One of B.O.A.C.'s most important problems had been to find a consistent design-style which could identify the Corporation at all points of contact with the general public and the individual passenger. He explained that B.O.A.C. had only a limited control over the design of aircraft and little or no say in the design of airports. Its most direct influence lay in aircraft details and ancillaries such as coaches and baggage trolleys, booking facilities, advertising procedures and personal accessories for passengers. The development of an all-pervading design theme had not been easy or rapid. A mixed bag of aircraft and uncertainty over the lines of development of both traffic and types of aircraft— these were some of the initial difficulties which faced B.O.A.C. One of the Corporation's early moves had been to seek the advice of several well-known industrial designers who, working together with the management, set the basis for a standard colour scheme which had evolved into the well-known blue, white and gold which the airline now used. They had also given advice on equip- ment and articles carried in cabins, while ranges of uniforms had been devised for use by aircrews and ground staff in various climates. Standard designs had been developed for furniture and public equipment in booking centres and, finally, a search had been made for the right type of passenger chairs and cabin fitments. Coaches were the passenger's first transport link with B.O.A.C. in England and at many overseas stations. They were much in the public eye, and therefore had to be well designed. The Corpora- tion's coaches had the same basic colour scheme as the aircraft, so as to emphasize the continuity of transport and also to simplify the purchase and storage of finishing materials. Technical Factors: Mr. Jackson pointed out that, so far as new aircraft were concerned, intricate problems of engineering and design had to be discussed between maker and operator. In many ways, he said, the aircraft industry has the last word on industrial design; not only because it presented to the operator and the public an aircraft with the superb lines of, for example, the Comet, but because these lines were derived primarily from technical considerations which also limited the scope of industrial design within the aircraft. In the same way, cabin dimensions had to be balanced against aerodynamic drag (and, therefore, speed and range), against structural weight and even against engine power and reliability. The same considerations applied to the design and layout of sections; even the toilets and galleys—with their con- siderable loads of equipment and water—had generally to be located according to the requirements of longitudinal trim. There was no simple formula for the designer who was forced to take many technical factors into account and might even be called upon to revise his ideas after the first flight trials. The speaker continued : "After the first technical compromises had been made there still remained a mixture of commercial and technical considerations which controlled the precise location of seats and many features of the interior appearance. For instance, there were maximum and minimum limits on the leg and elbow room allowed to passengers. It was only after all such points had been considered that the task of designing the interior of an aircraft became clear. Essentially, it was to obtain the desired appearance in equipment that was functionally correct and properly arranged in all the passenger quarters. The appeal to passengers must be made without adverse effect on weight or on ease of access for routine maintenance." Mr. Jackson explained also that, because weight was so critical COMFORT, allied with efficiency and economy, has also to be achieved with regard to cabin seating arrangements. In the Comet, as this photo- graph clearly shows, the industrial designers have excelled themselves.
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