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Aviation History
1965
1965 - 0162.PDF
An effective Formica "London 1647" black-and-white impression covers the transverse bulkheads of the passenger cabin of BOAC's Super VCIO. The prefabricated sidewall trim, with integral air- conditioning and cornice lighting, is also seen, together with the "floating" overhead rock and the recessed and movable passenger service panels FURNISHING AND FINISHING Interior Design . . . plete range of terminal catering preparation facilities and the culin- ary and toilet quarters and equipment in the aircraft. Since initial publication in 1959, supplements have been issued on potable (drinking) water systems and on galley details. The same depart- ment also publishes a comprehensive list of accepted equipment for interstate traffic on all forms of transport. The cost of furnishing a current jet airliner, including design charges, is somewhere between 6 and 9 per cent of the basic price of the complete aircraft and works out as a furnishing cost of between £600 and £1,000 per available passenger seat. For an intercontinental jet the primary design input, to convert the bare structure into a fully equipped airline interior, may be as much as 200,000 man-hours—equivalent to 100 men for a year and to the total effort involved in a complete aircraft design of the 1940s—and a further 5,000 to 20,000 man-hours may be needed for variations from the initial "standard." Much of this prodigious effort is accounted for by the great depth of detail design. The British ancillary industry has done well in keeping in step with the advancing standards of the aircraft manufacturer. The aircraft side of the companies involved is not normally their major effort. It is often a prestige subsidiary—but a pacemaker of experi- ence and a typical example of the wider ramifications of the spear- heading technological advantage which the aviation business offers to other allied industries. Practically all detail components such as mouldings, edging sections, fasteners and attachments must be specially designed. Plastics have been highly developed as primary furnishing materials. Semi-rigid polyvinyl chloride (p.v.c.) plastics are now in increasing use for prefabricated cabin sidewall surfaces and form- ings. These are of laminated construction, the outer layers being of p.v.c. enclosing a decorative layer, the whole being pressed together to form a uniform sheet. The decorative pattern layer, produced by silk screen or roller printing, is protected by a thin external covering of clear vinyl which is impervious to moisture, abrasion, or staining by liquid, grease, or nicotine, and is easily cleaned. The US Poly- plastex company provides an exciting range of patterns which are produced by combed random or woven patterns of natural grasses, synthetic fibres, metal-like strands, or multi-coloured flakes which are arranged by hand during the final laminating process. A new decorative laminate, originally developed for aircraft 96 FLIGHT International. 2J January /96j interior furnishing by Boeing, is being manufactured exclusively by British Celanese in this country under the trade name "Boelite." All these materials can be easily cut and readily bent or moulded to single curvature with mild heat and without damage or embrittle- ment. The Formica range of resin-impregnated rigid laminated plastic sheet, using a clear melamine covering over the decorative paper insert, has also been used to good effect on bulkheads. Plastic coverings also provide attractive and durable surfaces for galley units. Another new plastic development is pigmented glasscloth sheet. It can be made available with smooth, glossy, slubbed or leather grain surface finish with a similar appearance to vinyl cloth. The grained pattern is imprinted from a master pattern by a vacuum process while the resin is still wet. A unique BAC development is a lightweight plastic film mirror, which when mounted is only half the weight of a conventional glass mirror and is tough, unbreakable, non-misting, non-tarnishing and optically excellent over the large areas to which it may be readily fitted. There are numerous other applications of plastics for rigid mouldings and capping strips, particularly on seats and in other areas of potential hard wear. Choice of Fabrics Furnishing fabrics are available in a wide range of bright, fast colours, with which an airline can readily impose its own image on seat coverings and curtains within an otherwise neutral and restful fixed trim scheme. These are closely woven, giving a neat, tailored appearance. Suppliers must conform to rigid standards of compo- sition, colour fastness, stain resistance, liquid repellency and rot- proofness, and both the ARB and FAA impose high standards of flame resistance. The materials must also be hard-wearing and readily cleaned and without a rough texture which will damage clothes or stockings. Opinions vary on the final choice. Some air- lines prefer the cheaper expendable fabrics, which also allow a more frequent change of interior style, while others prefer the more expensive long-life materials. While wool carpets remain in wide use, the synthetic fibres are also being used. Colour-anodized metal trapping strips and nosings have proved to be both attractive and functional. Although ARB- and FAA-approved materials are used wherever possible there still remains a vital job of visual inspection for colour matching. At Weybridge an inspection area has been set up for the purpose. This is equipped with fluorescent-tube colour-matching lighting for use by trained inspectors who are able visually to con- trol the colour variation of large batches of raw materials with low reject rates. It is an unfortunate fact of life that the higher the grade The "board-room" furnishing scheme for an executive BAC One-Eltven uses high-grade timber for the lower sidewall dado panel and transverse bulkhead, with single-tone plastic window panels (as on the standard airline aircraft) but with sliding curtains instead of integral translucent window blinds. The hat-rack is deleted in favour of single light-tone panelling of wooden moulding and vinyl cloth, while retaining the usual cool-air outlets
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