Collin Aerospace selected for A320 Airspace cabin passenger service unit upgrades
The units will enhance flight experience, while optimizing weight, durability and performance via composite materials.
Photo Credit: Collins Aerospace
Collins Aerospace (Charlotte, N.C., U.S.), a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. (Waltham, Mass., U.S.), has been selected by Airbus (Toulouse, France) to supply upgraded passenger service units (PSU) for the delivery of the new A320 Family Airspace cabin. The advanced architecture and new design is said to fit seamlessly within the new Airspace cabin, and will support a consistent passenger experience across the family of aircraft.
Fabricated using composite materials, Collins Aerospace says the fiber reinforcements provide the strength and durability needed to handle each passenger touchpoint, including reading lights, air outlet valves and call attendant lights. Overall, the modular design is noted to be easily adjustable for a variety of seat pitches, enabling simple installation and removal.
“Years of collaboration and detailed customization have produced a passenger service unit that delivers weight savings, superior performance and a clean design that fits seamlessly within the new A320 Family Airspace cabin,” says Wolfram Schoettler, managing director at Collins Aerospace. “The Collins PSU gives passengers an enhanced flight experience and airlines the flexibility to integrate elegantly with various aircraft configurations and all PSU supply channels.”
Collins says it has supplied PSUs for the A320 family of aircraft for more than two decades and is actively working with Airbus to explore future developments and to improve the already outstanding performance of the new passenger service units.
FACC also completed the delivery of the Airspace cabin’s composite entrance area back in November.
Related Content
-
Materials & Processes: Composites fibers and resins
Compared to legacy materials like steel, aluminum, iron and titanium, composites are still coming of age, and only just now are being better understood by design and manufacturing engineers. However, composites’ physical properties — combined with unbeatable light weight — make them undeniably attractive.
-
Novel dry tape for liquid molded composites
MTorres seeks to enable next-gen aircraft and open new markets for composites with low-cost, high-permeability tapes and versatile, high-speed production lines.
-
Materials & Processes: Fibers for composites
The structural properties of composite materials are derived primarily from the fiber reinforcement. Fiber types, their manufacture, their uses and the end-market applications in which they find most use are described.