West Star Aviation provides behind-the-scenes view on Falcon 2000 cabin reconfiguration
West Star Aviation has revealed what goes into completing a Dassault Falcon 2000 cabin reconfiguration, the firm’s most requested modification for the past five years.
The process sees the aircraft modified from the most commonly configured eight-passenger layout to accommodate 10 passengers. West Star has completed 10 projects of this nature to date.
George Euler, Corporate Aircraft Interior sales manager, said: “I’ve had the pleasure of reconfiguring several Falcon 2000’s. It starts with our 3D designers and quickly engages our engineering team, allowing us to unleash our creativity. By focusing on the customer’s needs, we tailor the design to meet their operational requirements. We provide the additional seating capacity that is crucial for charter companies. This process ignites creativity, enabling us to innovate and achieve amazing outcomes.”
Floor plan reconfigurations are no small task, with several elements needing to be modified or replaced during the course of the work, according to the company. For example, a typical eight-passenger layout would include a forward four-place club arrangement and a conference group set up in the aft section of the cabin. This area would also have a credenza or kibitzer that is located on the right-hand side.
This credenza is removed and replaced with new aluminum plates mounted in the floor to pick up the existing seat track line. This allows new seat tracks to be installed that are narrower, to accommodate the new narrow-style seats in the area.
Next a new set of narrow-style double conference seats are installed on the left-hand side of the cabin. In most cases, the existing conference table can be used. The table will likely need to be modified in order to allow for egress requirements. Once this equipment is fitted and installed, a new side-ledge and table assembly is built and installed on the right side for the new narrow-style club group.
There are several key cost-driving elements to consider when planning for the 10-passenger configuration change, according to West Star. “Providing your technical sales manager with as much information as you have available at the initial request will expedite their ability to provide you with an accurate proposal. Though it would be great to be able to provide a firm price for the reconfiguration without much detail, each aircraft is like a snowflake—they are rarely identical,” said a spokesperson for West Star.
Some of those elements include a need to obtain the part numbers of the existing four-place club grouping to verify whether the seats that are being retained have been dynamically tested with the new narrow seating.
Then West Star will determine whether the aircraft has an existing flight data Rrcorder (FDR) and then confirm that the FDR complies with the additional passenger requirements. The company says technical sales manager will need to understand which oxygen bottle is installed for capacity purposes and whether it is positioned in the existing credenza, or outboard, or below the entertainment cabinet. New switching is typically needed, so the existing cabin management system will need to be considered for either modification or upgrade.
