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		English

ATA 25

Equipment  & Furnishings.

This chapter is often used by myself, to find part numbers of cargo locks and other parts of the cargo bays, like lining, floor panels, etc. It handles about everything a plane is made of inside. The seats of the flight crew, the seats of the passengers, all of the lining inclusive the sealing cabinets and the carpets.

In airplanes you have two possible cabin’s, a passenger layout, or a cargo layout. In case of a cargo plane the floor structure is some what different to a passenger one. Due to the fact that cargo plane transport higher loads on his floor structure, it’s been strengthened to be able to withstand these loads. One container or ULD (Universal Load Device) can contain up to +/- 4000Kg! Depending upon which airplane model you are talking about off course. Also the position of the ULD inside the plane is of great importance, to be able to keep “the center of gravity” at the correct spot. If not you get things like the pic’s here below show!

 

Even more important but not visible for the passengers is the sound and fire insulation. These “blankets” are to protect your ears in case your in the middle of the plane next to the engine, when you're there you'll know what I mean. But of course the sound insulation is installed over the complete length of the airplane. Don't forget the average airliner has approximately a airspeed of 900 Km/h or more! And it’s not only for noise insulation, it’s also to protect you from the sub-zero temperatures outside the plane. At cruise altitude, an airliner is flying through air with a temperature of minus 56° Celsius! So some protection here would be nice. The material that they use here, is special. It’s fire retarding, so when ever a plane gets on fire during a crash, the fire is slowed down towards the inside of the cabin, to protect the passengers as long as possible. 

Simbuilder: “Any one ever seen the Boeing crash tests on TV or internet? If your one of them you'll understand the importance of fire protective insulation! When a plane crashes into the ground, it becomes a ball of fire and the only way you or any one else may survive it is with this great invention. And of course a bit of luck!”

Anyway, enough chit-chat, of what is this fire protective insulation made? Well, you can compare it with “Rock wool” a blanket composed of two layers, one is glass wool the other is aluminum foil. This insulation is only installed in the fuselage. You have to know that in the front and the back of the fuselage a pressure bulkhead is installed, so the tail section, wings and the radome don't have this lining, see fig here below.

                            

Escape slides = life savers!

In case the plane has to perform a ditching maneuver (and survives it in one peace) the emergency doors together with the forward ( mid ) and aft doors will be opened and the escape sides will deploy automatically.

                                      

Some are just a slide, others have a lifeboat for several passengers on the end of the slide.

                               

These boats are fully equipped with lights, and a beacon called an “ELT” or Emergency Locator Transmitter, to aid the rescue crew in finding the boat. These ELT’s transmit for 31 days, after that the battery power is drained. But still this is longer then the passengers will survive with out food or water on the middle of the ocean!

                                           

Here you see several models of ELT's.

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