Wednesday - December 16, 2015

Top Row Seating

New Blister Canopy For Airliners adds extra excitement to flying. And that means extra income for the airlines.

The company says SkyDeck will transform in-flight entertainment.

Windspeed Technologies, a private aerospace engineering services company, has set out to transform in-flight entertainment with SkyDeck, a bubble-style window.

The company’s website describes SkyDeck as a “semi-external location” that gives passengers a view infinitely better than they’d get from a regular window seat. They’ll be enclosed in high-strength materials similar to those used for supersonic fighter jet canopies that will let them observe the plane’s surroundings.

The goal of SkyDeck is to provide a new in-flight entertainment option for the airline industry and “VIP aircraft owners.” As the website states, “Current in-flight entertainment offerings have not changed much over the decades. We wanted to come up with a product that would provide a higher level of entertainment to reduce the boredom of long flights.”

Passengers access the seats, either via an elevator or staircase. Once inside they can rotate the twin or single seats through 360-degrees, enjoying incredible sky vistas.
...
While the SkyDeck patent is still pending and has yet to be subjected to practical testing, Windspeed says its design is viable and won’t interfere with an aircraft’s handling.

It says the canopy would be made of materials used in supersonic fighter jets—strong enough to withstand birdstrikes and other stress factors.

An aerodynamic “teardrop” shape will help reduce the drag factor.

Anti-condensation film will be applied to stop it fogging up and a UV-protection coating will stop passengers being frazzled by the sun.

No timescale yet on when—if it gets approval—the SkyDeck might begin punching its way through an airplane fuselage near you.

Until then, we can only stare glumly at the seat-back in front of us and dream.

Pretty neat. But something seems to be missing ... like a pair of Browning M2s and a big belt of ammo? Let’s face it, this is just an unarmed top turret from WWII, modernized and made swanky. But who wouldn’t want a ride in one of those?

Maybe I should think of it as an observation deck. But when I do, I think of that other famous airplane with an observation deck ....

The installation cost is estimated somewhere between 7 and 25 million. So, maybe, maybe not. Nifty graphics at the links.

Personally, I think the airlines could give every passenger 85% of the thrill at no additional cost whatsoever. Every seat has a data screen in it these days, and all of them have at least some bit in them you can watch for free. Why not install a nose cam, a belly cam, and a wide angle tail cam, and let the passenger flick through them? No inputs, no wires connected to anything. But now everyone can see where they’re going, what’s forward and below them, and the big sky ahead and above them. Seems pretty amazing they don’t have this already. 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/16/2015 at 05:01 PM   
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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