FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1969
1969 - 0153.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 January 1969 137 Furnishing and finishing A "Flight" special review THIS "FLIGHT" FEATURE is devoted specifically to those parts of transport aircraft which are occupied by. or provide service for, the all-important paying customers. While most of the travellers may foe only dimly aware of the type of aircraft in which they are seated, they are acutely conscious of personal comfort and immediate surroundings on even the shortest of stages, and after intercontinental flights they dis embark as experts on the subject. The advent of SSTs and jumbos may well change a lot of things in commercial aviation—but not that basic fact. Passengers will remain humans Mk 1 and expect the inside of these technological marvels to be more pleasant and comfort able than ever. This happy state of affairs is precisely what the design departments of the airlines and the British specialist companies catalogued in the following pages are working towards—and, following recent announcements of the award of major contracts, apparently with considerable success. Concorde interior design is proving to be relatively straightforward, due in part to the cabin area being an almost constant-diameter tube, 103.4in wide at seat-arm height and 77in high at the centre of the aisle. No structural bulkheads intervene. The most critical factor is weight, and it is to effect large savings over hitherto accepted standards that much of the development work is being devoted. Experimental seat units in new materials—and new combinations of existing materials—are being built so as to provide at least the same comfort at up to 40 per cent weight saving. Trim is receiving the same sort of detailed examination and special plastics materials with thinner backing fabrics and coatings are under development. Carpets, similarly, will be of lightweight manu facture but possess wearing qualities equivalent to those of Weight-saving is of outstanding importance in furnishing and finishing Concorde. This is the first-class cabin layout heavier types. Special galley and bar units have already been built and fitted to the mock-up at Filton. A totally different challenge is presented by the Boeing 747 and other wide-fuselage transports. The 747. in addition, will be the first type to reflect the new FAA regulations concerning emergency evacuation of passengers and the fire- resisting characteristics of materials used in the interior and will involve the furnishing and finishing section of the industry in a certain amount of re-thinking and R&D work. The main passenger area of the 747 is divided by the galley and toilet complexes. Each of the four resulting cabins seats as many passengers as an Argonaut or Comet, so a major design consideration is to relieve any tendency towards visual monotony. BOAC will provide four different colour environments, with basic colours in the carpets plus side panels of constant design but varying background tones; ceilings will foe light in tone. Seat covers will be of pleasing abstract patterns and divider bulkheads in colourful designs as focal points. Galley modules will be palletised. With these projects and a continuing volume of work con cerned with types such as the One-Eleven, HS.748, Jetstream, HS.125, Islander and Skyvan, besides many foreign-built transports, the furnishing and finishing companies will play a full part in what should foe, once again, a record-breaking year for British aerospace exports. J.R.V. Fifty-eight-year flashback: Luxury seating in the Valkyrie monoplane of 1911 "Flight" photograph COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS A.E.I, Lamp & Lighting Co Ltd, Melton Road, Leicester (Leicester 61531) Capless, 10W 28V lamps with granulated bulbs for reading and other interior lights; miniature fluorescent flight deck lamps. Aerogalley Ltd, Gatwick House, Horley, Surrey (Horley 5353) Suppliers of galley equipment and fixtures including electrical units, bar boxes and tray carriers; Perspex, Melamine and other tableware, foil con tainers, non-slip tray mats and non-woven fabric cloths, and air sickness bags. Agents for Sell Haus und Kuchentechnik. Aerolex Ltd, Bridge Road, Camberley, Surrey, (Camberley 5451) Cargo lashing equipment; passenger seat belts and crew harness. Airborne Upholstery Ltd, Airborne Works, Arterial Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex (South- end-on-Sea 525265) Seats, seat belts, and seat upholstery and facings are manufac tured to specification. Aircraft & Commercial Reinforced Plastics Ltd, Eldorado Works, Southern Trading Estate, Gresham Road. Staines, Middx (Staines 51235) Meal trays: reading light panels: toilet seats, tops, covers, surrounds and drip trays: wash basins—manufactured from chopped-strand mat, glasscloth and fire retardent polyester resins with colours mixed in. Aircraft Furnishing Ltd, Hersham Station Works, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Walton- on-Thames 26261) Developed from their 500 series BOAC VC10 economy class seat. Aircraft Furnishing's Airfurn 700 series is a single spar, lightweight, tubular frame unit, featuring Pirelli webbing, hydraulic recline and padded tables, and weighing 17.5lb a seat place for a triple unit. A re-styled version weighs 20.51b a seat place. Aircraft currently being equipped with these multi purpose seats include DC-8-62s of SAS and DC-9s of Swissair. Aircraft Materials Ltd, Midland Road, London NW1 (01-387 6151) Adhesives and sealants; tie-down harness and quick-release mechanisms; safety harness; fasteners.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
