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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0106.PDF
106 FLIGHT, 22 January 1960 triangular frames—light alloy forgings inthe 200, welded high-tensile steel in the 300 Flyweight. Passengers' comfort is as-sured by cushions of foam rubber/poly- ether. Now under development is theLonsdale 400 light first-class seat. On similar lines to the Lonsdale are thelight-weight high-density seats in produc- tion by Transport Seating Ltd, BromleyStreet, Birmingham 9, available in double and triple units, and with a deep well inthe seat-back which makes them suitable for pitching at 28in. The double seat ver-sion weighs under 361b, the triple seat 481b, with tip-up seats and folding arm rests,recline and break-forward backs. INTERIOR INDUSTRY seats (type 234). The seats are designedto be very comfortable, with unrestricted leg room, although light in weight. Thecushions and intermediate arm rests tip up, and "break forward" seat-backs arefitted. Complete with safety belt, built-in seat-back tables and Iodise covers, a doubleseat weighs 441b and a triple seat 611b. The structure is stressed for 9g, fore or aftfacing, and the seat legs are "indexing" to allow port or starboard and forward oraft-facing installation. These seats for BEA are part of a rangeof more than 50 different types of passen- ger seating, among which is the "Pay-loader" folding seat. Other airlines using Flight Equipmentseats include Transair, Hunting-Clan, Eagle, Britayia and Skyways and, overseas,Malayan Airways, KLM, Sabena, SAS, Hong Kong, Misrair, Central AfricanAirways, Turkish Airlines, Aryana, West African Airways and Indian Airlines. Flight Equipment, which is associatedwith the Flight Equipment & Engineer- ing Corporation in the United States, isnevertheless fully self contained; they produce their own designs through the (Lett) Microcell tourist-economy "Traveller No 2" seating for BOAC's Boeing 707 fleet. (Right) Low-weight tourist seat developed by Flight Equipment & Engineering for BEA's Viscount 802s Construction is of steel tube, with alarge percentage of oval tubing for easy repair and maintenance, no complex cast-ings or fittings are incorporated; the outer covers zipp on and off in about lOsec.Seats of this type now being installed in five Silver City Hermes airliners will in-crease the seating capacity from 68 to 83 passengers.This company are also making double (481b) and triple (681b) folding seats (ofthe type installed in the Armstrong Whit- worth Argosy) which when folded can bestowed vertically against the sidewalls, leaving the cabin interior free for freightcarriage. One person can perform this operation in about 30sec per seat. Auto-matic locking devices are fitted to all fold- ing parts. The structure is of welded cir-cular-section steel tube, and is stressed for 14g fore and aft and 6g downward. Eachseat has a three-position recline mechan- ism, break-forward back and built-in table.British European Airways have adopted seats developed to their specification byFlight Equipment & Engineering Ltd, 142 Cromwell Road, London SW7, fortheir new Vanguard fleet. BEA's Viscount 802 fleet, too, is currently being re-seatedby Flight Equipment with high-density prototype stage, stress testing, and on tofull production and upholstery. They are pursuing a vigorous development policydirected towards safer and lighter seats, and are studying energy absorption prob-lems related to aircraft passenger seats. Also in the lightweight class is theSM700 seat developed by Short Brothers & Harland Ltd, Queens Island, Belfast. An earlier type of seat by Short's was installedin the Viscount 800s of BEA and Middle East Airlines, and the company are alsobuilding the Type 210 heavy-duty seat for Britannias of the RAF. The newSM700 seat, produced in double and triple units, weighs less than 201b per passengerand provides a floor clearance of 15 in at the rear, allowing seats to be pitched at30in without causing discomfort. The seat, which has a tubular steel structure, in-corporates the new standard features of break-forward back r.nd tip-up seat. Tip-up arm rests too can be supplied, and either plug-in or folding tables. Standardequipment includes built-in ashtrays, magazine pockets and lifejacket pouches. The single-beam type of seat construc-tion has been adopted by Microcell Air- craft, Imperial Buildings, Kingsway, Lon-don WC2, who supply the whole range of passenger seating for BOAC's Comet fleet,including the Royal Comet in which the Queen and Prince Philip flew to Canadalast year, as well as first-class and de luxe - seating for BOAC's Britannias. They willalso be supplying both first-class and tourist-economy seats for the Boeing 707fleet. The industrial design consultant Mrs Gaby Schreiber advises Microcell onstyling. The present range of seats are not,"ultra lightweight" (although such a seat is under development). A triple TravellerNo. 2 tourist-economy seat complete with recline mechanism, tables, and so onweighs around 781b; but Microcell seats have the advantage of great operationalflexibility. The use of bolted unit construc- tion enables the operator to build up twinor triple units at will. The structure con- sists of a single rectangular extrusion in ahigh-strength light alloy, carried on two, triangular leg units. They have the usual-features of break-forward backs, tip-up seats and folding arms; the backs arereclinable from 14° to 44°, and the swing- down meal-tables built into the seat backshave fore-and-aft adjustment to allow for either tourist (38in) or economy spacing(34in or less) Plastic panels on the side- arm and leg structure are a decorativefeature, easily removed and replaced. First-class and de luxe seats are builtup in a similar way to the Traveller seats, but have a greater range of recline (16° to68°), wider seats and armrests, and, in the de luxe version, leg rests for completerelaxation. One of the pioneer makers of aircraftseats and furnishings—including sound- proofing installations—is L. A. Rumbold& Co Ltd, Kingsgate Place, Kilburn, London NW6. Their range covers notonly seats of all types—over 100 different varieties—sleeperettes and bunks, butalso layout designs and such equipment as wardrobes, galleys, folding tables, life-belts, luggage attachments, and so on. Luxury reclining Rum- bold seats in an executive version of the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer
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