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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0117.PDF
* LIGHT, 27 January 1961 117 Microcell twin seat unit, incorporating built-in table and cabinet for personal effects. It is used in the first-class layout for BO AC Boeing 707$, for which the company are supplying the entire range of first- and economy-class seating clearly has to contend with a set of variables almost as wide as thatwhich confronts the designer of the aircraft. And the dimensions of the seats' occupants are not his only worry. Will the seat beinexpensive to produce and to maintain? Will it be aesthetically appealing? Particularly important, will it be acceptably light inweight yet able to take stresses of 8 or 9g? Will it be easy to install and to remove? These questions seem to be pretty well taped by the severalspecialist suppliers of airline passenger seats in Britain. One name which springs immediately to mind when seats are discussedis that of Microcell Ltd, of 9 Kingsway, London WC2. This company is a supplier on a major scale to BOAC, having made allthe seats for its Britannia, Comet 4 and Boeing 707 fleets, when they were initially equipped. More recently, Ghana Airwaysplaced a contract with Microcell for passenger seating in their two Britannias. Microcell ignore the usual welded or riveted seat constructionin favour of bolted assembly, which offers the airline operator maximum flexibility. Twin or triple units can be assembled easilyfrom his stock of common parts and many parts are interchange- able between first-class and economy-class seats. The operatorcan therefore change the ratio between the two classes in one aircraft, to suit varying traffic demands, with a minimum oftrouble. Another feature of Microcell seats is the use of light- weight plastic panels on the side-arm and leg structures which canbe easily removed for replacement, or a change in colour-scheme. The first-class seating fitted in BOAC's 707s is the de luxeExecutive, a twin unit unusual in having a cabinet and tray between the two component scats, for books, magazines, hand-bags or for use as a miniature cocktail cabinet. A similar first-class twin unit, without the cabinet, has been installed in Middle EastAirlines' Comet 4s. Matched with these first-class seats are the Traveller series ofeconomy-class twin and triple units, which share styling with them as well as some common components. Maximum inter-changeability in cabin layouts and homogeneity in the appearance of the aircraft's whole interior is thus achieved. While first-class seats may be the epitome of luxury and adelightto sybarites, airline economics are firmly based on the increasing popularity of economy-class services. Increasingemphasis on high-density travel has brought forth many compact and lightweight seats, typified by the latest lightweight unit byTransport Seating Ltd, of Western Works, Bromley Street, Birmingham 9. This weighs 361b and is produced in twin andtriple sets. The seat pitch can be as low as 28in. For use in convertible passenger-freight aircraft the companyproduces twin and triple folding seats, which have been fitted in the AWA Argosy multi-purpose aircraft. The company has asquad of trained operatives ready to travel anywhere in the United Kingdom to furnish completely whole aircraft interiors. One of the oldest-established names in the aircraft-seatingbusiness is that of L. A. Rumbold & Co Ltd, of London NW6. Their range of standard and special seats includes over 100 types,and extensive use is made of magnesium alloy, which combines great strength with low weight. Aircraft in which Rumbold seat-ing has recendv been installed include the Fokker Friendship, Dart Herald and Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer. Helicopter seat-ing is a field in which the company has specialized, and one of their designs weighs only 291b for a fully upholstered triple unit.They have been responsible for the seating, cabin furnishing and soundproofing of the Westland Whirlwinds of the Queen's Flight;complete interior furnishing for any type of aircraft has long been a Rumbold speciality. Lancefield Aircraft Components Ltd, of Herries Street, LondonW10, are specialists who have supplied seating for the aircraft of a number of well-known airlines, including the Comets of BEA,Aerolineas, Mexicana, Misrair and Olympic. Their first-class seats, in weights ranging from 621b and 651b, are double units with eithernine- or four-position back-rests and very complete detail equip- ment (meal trays, magazine stowage, etc) for passenger comfort.Magnesium alloy is used for the framework, and a very wide range of "Lancedown" upholstery colours is available. Aircraft Furnishing Ltd, of 41 Lonsdale Road, London Wll,have established a reputation for providing low-cost, lightweight comfort in their four years of existence. The company's Lonsdalelightweight and "flyweight" seats, built to a patented structural principle, have been adopted by nine British and overseas airlinesand export shipments have totalled over £130,000 in value in the last two years. The latest addition to the range, in production forBOAC's Britannia-operated Skycoach cabotage services, is the Universal Flyweight. This seat is unusual in having laterallyadjustable legs, permitting its installation in various types of aircraft with differing seat rails. The legs are bolted to the lateraltubular monospar, on which the tip-up seats and the break- forward, reclining backs are hinged. This transverse beam actsas a torque tube in absorbing deceleration loads in torsion. Even with a pitch of only 28in, ample leg room is assured by-having space for the feet beneath the seat in front. Recessed into the seat-back is a drop-down table and a magazine pouch. Theseat is astonishingly light, weighing only about 181b per seat place. The design offers a weight saving of 27| per cent and a costsaving of 45 per cent over the earlier Lonsdale 200 seat. The structure is of high tensile steel with light alloy detail fittings.Upholstery is in foam rubber. Upholstering of aircraft seats and the conversion or re-trimmingof aircraft interiors on the operator's premises are specialized services of Aircraft Furnishing's associate company, LatexUpholstery Ltd, which shares the same address. This company manufactures certain nylon fittings which are described underanother heading in this review. Short Brothers & Harland Ltd, Queen's Island, Belfast, com-pleted last month an order for 3,000 of the Type 210 passenger seats, when they handed over, on December 2, the last Belfast-built Britannia 253 for RAF Transport Command. The days when anything in the way of discomfort was good enough for Service-men are long since over; in the design of this seat Shorts had the benefit of the collaboration of the Institute of Aviation Medicine,whose doctors measure questions of comfort and the reduction of travelling fatigue in esoteric, anatomical terms. The seat wasdesigned for a passenger weight of 1801b, instead of the usual 1701b (a reflection, perhaps, on improved Service ration scales)and withstands forces of 9g fore and aft. Special safety features include a heel restraint and a protective wing on each side of thehead-rest. Attached to the head-rest is an adjustable Lionide pillow, filled with Terylene wool, while the upholstery is in foamplastic covered with Lionide, the seat cushion and squab being supported on Terylene sheet. The seats, in twin and triple units,can be installed port or starboard without alteration and are easily dismantled and stowed when the aircraft is required forother duties. Strategic reservists can lie back and relax at any of eight angles between 12° and 44° to the vertical while flying Type 242 first-class seat unit by Flight Equipment & Engineering Ltd, as installed in the Vanguard
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