Protected, productive and pleasurable
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Posted Date: 01/12/2007
Issue: Executive & VIP Aviation International December 2007
Publication: Executive & VIP Aviation International
Boundary pushing is nothing new for large-cabin completions. But over the decades, the show of boundary-pushing has retreated and the innovation in the cabin is increasingly hidden. Today’s lighter modern aero-structures are also delivering to completion centres new challenges as they complete dream spaces on board. The requests for fireplaces and jacuzzis may be less frequent, and the mission of the aircraft is uppermost, but there is no doubt about it: large spaces afford the opportunity to innovate so that the experience in the air is protected, productive and pleasurable.
Protection before pleasure
Protection is perhaps the primary concern for heads of state; and where the completion centre is also a defence contractor; a high level of comfort can be delivered to a potentially vulnerable target. L-3 Integrated Systems is a case in point. It is a company that is usually associated with defence systems; but in these days of high-security civilian aviation, a crossover in terms of technologies from the defence market to the large-cabin VIP jet market is becoming increasingly obvious. Ken McAlpin is the Director of VIP and Head of State Programmes at L-3 Integrated Systems. “For almost two decades now we’ve had a VIP and head of state completions capability which operates somewhat independently of the government and military business,” he explains, adding that there has also often been the opportunity to supply low-end interior completions to the US Government in addition to private clients. “Many heads of state want some of the more sophisticated systems we produce,” comments McAlpin. “L-3 first and foremost is a systems integrator, but subject to export approval, we provide systems that protect the aircraft against shoulder-launched missiles, for example.” L-3 has developed a self-protection system that comprises a sophisticated suite of equipment that will detect a potential launch. It then seeks to confirm that the object it has detected is heading towards the aircraft and if it does, it dispenses counter measures to defeat the approaching missile.
In addition, military crossover into the VIP market is demonstrated by the advanced secure communication systems installed at L-3. “We can also install telemetry systems,” says McAlpin, referring to the sending of data and measurements to remote locations. “If someone wants a medical room in their aircraft and they want to send real-time information to a clinic, we could set that up.” So in which types of aircraft are we talking about typically installing this type of specialist equipment? “For the most part it makes sense to install these systems in larger aircraft,” comments McAlpin, referring to 737s and larger. Asked whether this is changing, he says: “There is demand for us to work in this way on smaller aircraft but the challenge is that we have to install the same for self-protection systems on a small aircraft as a large aircraft, albeit that we may be able to reduce a box or two or a sensor or two. But you still have to bring very similar loads onto the aircraft. Sometimes there are also power issues given that some of the smaller aircraft have very little power.” Where L-3 does install such systems, the system installation is part and parcel of an entire VIP completion. In the case of the large-cabin projects, completion takes typically 18-24 months, depending upon the aircraft size and the complexity of the interior.
Traditional but cutting edge
Head of state requests for defence-related protection and communications systems aside, completion centres have been kept busy innovating with more traditional VIP interior concepts. John Brodeur is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Aerospace Concepts. He says that curved surfaces have been the big movement in aircraft interiors in recent years as straight lines have given way to organic shapes and neutral tones. This shift adds cost because curved components need to be designed, engineered to meet approvals and constructed in a bespoke fashion. Brodeur says the movement has been away from “cookie cutter” and towards individual shapes. “When someone buys an aircraft of this magnitude, they don’t want ‘cookie cutter’; they want a highly personalised, unique, interior,” points out Brodeur, adding that the economics of this approach often do not stack up for smaller cabins.
Seating is also getting more ambitious and honed match specific requirements. For example Brodeur remembers one Middle Eastern client requesting that his chair face Mecca at the push of a button. But, again, elaborate seating functionality tends to be limited to large-cabin aircraft because of weight considerations. Beds too can be subject to far-reaching demands on large-cabin aircraft. “We had a client request that his bed was fitted to gimbals to allow it to pivot on all six axes so that it would always remain perfectly horizontal as the aircraft never flies at a perfect pitch. Most people do not notice this but if you fly a lot, you do,” remembers Brodeur. “This was doable but there was a severe weight penalty in the mechanism and a limitation on the number of passengers on board.”
These large-cabin aircraft typically have range which means long hours spent on board and a need for more extensive personal maintenance facilities. “NASA developed a recirculation system to enable 50 gallons of water recycled to enable a passenger to shower. It is a closed loop system so that as the water drains from the shower it goes through various filters and then the water is perfectly potable for showering,” he explains. With progress these systems are being developed into much bigger versions of existing shower facilities with closer to 150 gallons of water in the loop with larger shower areas. Large-cabin aircraft in VIP configuration have provided endless opportunities for the innovative design engineer to sharpen his pencil and create productive and pleasurable spaces but there is a new generation of large-cabin aircraft being made available to the VIP fraternity and with this new generation are both opportunities and conundrums to solve.
Dream homes
Perhaps the newest large-cabin playground for design engineers is the VIP 787. In airliner terms, the 787 brings big-jet ranges to mid-size airplanes; but for the VIP market, this is an airframe that offers huge potential in terms of space. In fact the VIP-configured 787-8 offers 2,404ft² (223.3m²) of cabin space and a range of 9,590nm (17,760km), while the VIP-configured 787-9 offers 2,762ft² (256.6m²) of cabin space and a range of 9,950nm (18,425km). This capability allows owners of the 787 VIP jet to fly anywhere in the world non-stop while carrying up to 75 passengers. But the beauty of the 787 is its light composite construction. As much as 50% of the primary structure – including the fuselage and wing – is made of composite materials. By manufacturing a one-piece fuselage section, Boeing has eliminated 1,500 aluminium sheets and 40,000-50,000 fasteners.
But what does it mean for an interior completion that the airframe comprises 50% composite materials? Walter Heerdt is the Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales at Lufthansa Technik and is well place to respond to this query. “This is a very difficult question at present because Boeing has not distributed all the technical information,” comments Heerdt. “We and our competitors have basic designs available to us. As soon as we have the data from Boeing, we will cross-check our designs with the design data and see whether or not changes will have to be made. This is also necessary for calculating loads,” comments Heerdt. “I do not expect this to have an impact but we need this to be confirmed as soon as we have the data.”
This next stage cannot happen fast enough for Lufthansa Technik as Heerdt confirms that the completions house is engaged in discussions with customers for the 787 and Boeing is aware that technical data is now urgently required. “I personally believe any adjustments will be very minor or nothing at all, but we need to confirm this based on the technical data,” says Heerdt. Eugene Hartl is the Vice President Completions and Modifications at Jet Aviation Basel. He comments that Jet Aviation too is awaiting detailed engineering data for the 787. Jet Aviation was the first to sign a letter of intent a for a 787-9 completions project with a start date as far out as 2011. The company has been working on an interior for the 787 since 2005, when it partnered with London-based yacht and corporate aircraft interior designer Peder Eidsgaard. In the meantime, the Basel-based engineering team is working closely with Boeing to become familiar with the 787s advanced design and new composite materials.
Asked further whether the composite structure will impact upon what a completion centre is able to install in the 787 when it arrives, Hartl says: “We still believe we will be able to install the same interior as we would be able to install in a 767. The big question is how we attach the cabin interior to the fuselage.” He adds: “We have some initial ideas but we can only work on the detail when we have the data. Of course it is not possible to rivet the interior to a carbon fibre fuselage.”
The launch of the 787 Dreamliner for VIP clients has caused considerable stir. Greenpoint Technologies has unveiled the “SkyHome 2010” which it has built within the architecture of a 787. Dubbed “a live-aboard yacht in the sky,” Greenpoint is now marketing its concept to VIPs in the market for a 787. “After listening to our clients we found that they were spending much more time on their private aircraft. They requested features that mirrored the functionality they expected in their home,” comments Greenpoint’s Creative Director, Greg Vander Houwen. “We included features like a walk-in wine cellar or humidor, a garage for the ‘toys’ and huge closet/storage space as uses of the Dreamliner’s lower deck.”
Just around the corner
Even bigger cabins are around the corner with the 747-8 and A380 coming on stream. Lufthansa Technik has worked on interior models for both aircraft types. It boasts a significant history of 747 interior completions and has long-standing expertise in the maintenance of this type given Lufthansa Airlines’ operation of the 747 in commercial configuration. In addition, the airline has recently ordered 747-8s and A380s for airline operation and the maintenance and completions side of the business has geared up for acceptance of these aircraft types. “This means that the maintenance of these two aircraft types will not be a big issue for us,” says Heerdt, adding that from the completions perspective it is just a matter of slot availability. “We know the airplanes from the operational point of view and we all know that commercial airplanes fly more than a low utilisation VIP airplane and so Lufthansa’s airplanes are ageing faster than the VIP airplanes. This means that if there are any problems with the airplane, we can build this information into forming corrective action and then preventative action for VIP customers,” comments Heerdt. “The experience that we gain with these airplanes we will utilise further to the benefit of our VIP clients.”
Jet Aviation Basel is also ramping up for the advent of even larger cabins for completion. It is currently investing $30 million in the expansion of its Basel facility. It will add a new wide-body completions hangar at the south zone of the airport which is large enough to accommodate an A380 and a 747-8 simultaneously. Completion of the new hangar is expected in mid-2008.So the opportunities afforded by existing large cabins for protected, productive and pleasurable flight are becoming more extensive. The details may be in the hands of the technical engineers but the ideas are flowing and no doubt the orders will roll; and so too will the completions contracts for those who have ramped up capacity.
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