The initial impression upon entering the passenger cabin is, frankly, that it is cramped - because of the constraints placed upon its design by the small 2.10m fuselage cross-section. Its appeal grows upon longer acquaintance. It is pleasantly light, with a window for each seat-row. The maximum headroom in the aisle is 1.82m, but only at the inboard edge of the walkway. Tall passengers will have to stoop.
The passenger service units and the overhead bins are neatly fitted, the latter having cunning doors which slide out of the way into a gap between the bin floor and its outer skin when opened. There are 11 bins, with a total volume of 1.90m3 (67ft3) and a loading of 288kg, but the maximum cross-section for hard luggage is about that of a standard pilot's flight case. The comfortable passenger seats - 50 at 790mm pitch in the standard configuration - have reclining backs, fold-up arms, meal trays and magazine pouches, and good underseat leg or baggage room.
The good news is that the widest portion of the cabin is more or less at armrest height so that elbow room is plentiful. Each seat has a passenger service unit above, containing a controllable vent, reading light, loudspeaker, seat-belt warning, attendant call button and an oxygen dispensing unit. During a passenger demonstration flight of more than 1h it was evident that the stewardess could move fore and aft easily with the meal trolley, and that two people could pass each other in the aisle - but passengers did occasionally bang their heads on the overhead units.
Cabin noise levels proved to be higher than I had expected. From my seat forward of the wing, the APU was clearly audible on the ground.
During take-off, the overall noise level was about what I had expected, but it was in the climb and cruise that I found the cabin noise high; there was a muted rumble, apparently from the engines. Closer to the rear of the cabin, aerodynamic noise became noticeable. The undercarriage "clonked" up and down, but the flaps were quiet. Affonso says that these problems are being tackled by fitting a hydraulic accumulator to damp-out cyclic vibrations in hydraulic pipes running through the fuselage; fitting silencers in the auxiliary-power-unit intake and exhaust ducts, better sealing the wheel wells; and fitting extra sound dampening material.
Source: Flight International
