You are a frequent first class flyer, but you are bored of the champagne, the movies and the same services that a first class seat offers and wish you had something new.
Skydeck could be the answer. Designed by Windspeed – a US based aerospace tech company, it will offer travelers a view of the skies and the surroundings from an unrivaled place – the top of the aircraft. It has been designed to be a safe semi-external premium seating location covered by a glass canopy and could be reached by a flight of stairs or an elevator.
The pod is designed like a tear drop and is planned to be installed towards the rear of the aircraft. The tear drop is just high enough for you to raise your head in pride while inside and low enough to ensure that the tail performance of the aircraft is not hindered in anyway. The Skydeck can be installed in a range of aircrafts from smaller executive jets to wide-bodied ones. Depending on the aircraft, it could have a single or a double seat. The canopy will increase the weight of the aircraft. But the design will guarantee that the weight does not go beyond the MTOW of the aircraft.
The canopies are expected to be made with the same or better specifications as those of supersonic fighter jets. Windspeed has confirmed that they will outsource the production of the canopies to professional aircraft canopy manufacturers who will build, test and provide ready to install canopies to Windspeed. Patents have been applied by the company for the design and are pending currently.
Skydeck has been designed to give an electrifying experience for the flyer. The airlines could develop several revenue models around it. They can sell them as individual seats or can develop a pay per view kind of arrangement in which the flyer is made to pay for using it as a viewing deck for a fixed duration of time. But the company has not yet commented on a timescale before you can see it on an airplane. Till then, you will have to bear with the same champagne and the boring movies. (www.windspeedtech.com/skydeck/)
