The newly developed helicopter seat from AUTOFLUG should be lightweight, robust and extremely safe. After one year of development, AUTOFLUG presented the result to the world public for the first time this week at the HAI Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, USA – AUTOFLUG FLYWEIGHT®. “We have not only reached the set of goals,” says Björn Kanstorf, Head of the Business Unit Cabin Solutions at AUTOFLUG, “rather a seat family has emerged on the basis of which nearly all requirements for modern cabin layouts in civilian helicopters can be realized.“ Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art composite materials in the production of the seat-shell and the sophisticated design, the AUTOFLUG FLYWEIGHT® seats are among the lightest seats on the market. The energy absorption system used to achieve high crash-safety is a proven system that has been used for several years. “Right from the start, my team was looking for the best compromise between proven technology and innovative approaches,” continues Kanstorf. Only in this way has it been possible to realize a seat with a weight of less than 9 kg in the basic configuration. However, the family approach hides more than just a seat. The concept includes a variety of features that can be combined on the basis of three configurations. Depending on the purpose, desired flight time and comfort level, there is the right FLYWEIGHT® seat for a wide variety of helicopter cabins. The seats are also characterized by a modern design that can be custom-tailored in numerous details.
AUTOFLUG has been actively involved in the development and production of seating systems in military helicopters for more than a decade. In the current development of a seat-family for civil applications, it was thus possible to draw on a tremendous amount of experience from a large number of different projects. Initial discussions with major OEMs in the helicopter industry have shown keen interest in the modern and safety-oriented approach of the AUTOFLUG FLYWEIGHT® seating solutions.
