A new airplane seating patent that doesn't try to
squeeze more humans into a smaller space. Instead, this concept aims to give
passengers an even better view of the skies than the pilot's by seating them on
top of the plane, inside a transparent bubble-style canopy.
U.S. aerospace technology company Windspeed says its
SkyDeck design can be installed on a variety of aircraft, from private jets to
wide-bodied commercial planes.
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. "Current inflight
entertainment offerings have not changed much over the decades," Windspeed
says. "We wanted to come up with a product that would provide a higher
level of entertainment to reduce the boredom of long flights."
The company says the seats could "create the next
exciting experiential inflight entertainment for VIP aircraft" or could be
used to create revenue on commercial flights through a pay-per-view basis. 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 and in front of us and dream on
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