A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Lufthansa Technic (LHT) is staging at NBAA 2018 a Welcome Home celebration; that’s the theme and name of LHT’s VIP interior design concept for the forthcoming ACJ350 XWB. At its display (Booth 3435), the completion specialist is showcasing a mockup of a cabin section and a new scale model of the wide-body execliner, both outfitted in the Welcome Home style.

 


The design incorporates “all the features necessary for people who are traveling to relax and take care of themselves: exercise, freshly prepared food, aroma therapies, and so on,” said Wieland Timm, LHT’s senior director for VIP and special-mission aircraft. That includes flexible interior elements that can be quickly configured for either privacy or family time.

 


At EBACE in Geneva this year, LHT announced becoming an Airbus-approved outfitter for the all-carbon fiber jumbo, and the big display in Orlando would “suggest we will be successful in sales in the next months,” said Timm.

 


The Welcome Home mockup showcases “all the new Lufthansa Technik technology you can put into a real VIP cabin,” said Timm, with working electronics and lighting operated via its proprietary nice cabin management system, and touches like images of clouds moving along the ceiling.

 


The large model of the ACJ350 XWB on display shows all the interior elements in reduced size, as well as its unique, eye-grabbing paint scheme: “The aircraft is looking like a reptile,” Timm said.

 


Guests can also sample gourmet cooking, prepared with the onboard kitchen equipment LHT offers for the VIP market, and also demo the latest entertainment products, all available for retrofits as well as green completions. LHT is also hosting a new “sound bar,” a dedicated room where visitors can hear the in-house developed loudspeaker system used in VIP cabins. It can get very loud inside, Timm cautioned.

 


Visitors can also virtually tour the ACJ350 and other LHT VIP interior designs, like the Mercedes-Benz Style cabin, by donning a VR “bubble,” a head strap with a goggle-like mount for holding a smartphone screen in front of one’s eyes. With the bubble strapped in place, “You can move around and see all the details of the cabin,” Timm said. “You can go in each and every room, and open drawers, as if you’re walking through.”

 


Connectivity is a critical element of today’s VIP cabin, and LHT’s TIOS (Three-In-One-Solution] tail-mounted antenna installation offers a Ka-band solution in a configuration that provides several advantages over fuselage-mounted antennas, according to LHT, including weight savings and reduced installation time. TIOS is also part of the LHT display. Approved for BBJ narrow-body aircraft, the installation can accommodate a Ka-band alone, or be combined with Ku-/L-band antennas.

 


Meanwhile, at its Hamburg headquarters, LHT is reshaping its completions and refurbishment facilities and bringing in new tooling in preparation for the ACJ350 and to enhance the efficiency and reduce turn time in its MRO services.

 


LHT has recently signed new completion projects, Timm said, but “we have an NDA [non-disclosure agreement] even to not mention which of type of aircraft.” These don’t include a previously announced 787 completion scheduled for induction this month. Last month LHT delivered an ACJ321 to the German government, and it has another ACJ and BBJ in Hamburg nearing delivery. Heavy checks and upgrades on older VIP aircraft are also in demand. “The aircraft should be in use for the next five to 10 years, so they need a touch-up,” Timm said. He noted the company has expertise in legacy 747-300/-400&nbsp;and can repair the airframe, refurbish the cabin, upgrade the IFE, and even overhaul the engines and landing gear, a unique capability among MRO facilities, according to Timm.

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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