German aeronautical engineering company Bishop is seeking partners for its Flexible Seat Arrangement System (FSAS), allowing airlines to change cabin-seat configuration to match the passenger class requirements of individual flights. The FSAS, which Hamburg-based Bishop is patenting, is designed to be a quick and cheap way to alter cabin seat configuration, says managing director Peter Bishop.
FSAS, which he will launch at this month's Aircraft Interiors Exhibition in Hamburg, is a centrally controlled mechanised system, allowing instant cabin reconfiguration tailored to market demands. It comprises an electrical servo-driven development of the aircraft seat attachment stud. The FSAS studs will fit standard seat rails and be controlled by a centralised computer unit connected to the cabin interphone distribution system. Once seats are reconfigured, the seat stud is locked centrally using pin electromagnets.
The system will allow unlimited different seating configurations without the need for aircraft downtime, according to Bishop. "For the first time, seating will be adjustable at the press of a button," he says. The company is seeking aircraft seat manufacturer, software and airline partners to develop the concept, says Bishop, adding that the company will "go it alone" if it fails to secure partners.
Bishop has worked on Airbus and Fairchild Dornier programmes, including writing the avionics system specification and conducting the fatigue and damage tolerance analysis for the Airbus A380.
Source: Flight International
