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November 3rd, 2021 data were obtained from a study performed in real flights where human participants rated the comfort at several moments during the flight. Additionally, measurements were taken in the aircraft on noise, vibration, temperature, CO2, humidity, sitting dimensions etc. These data will be used in building a simulator/demonstrator and a comfort model.

The results of these three ATR72 flight recordings will be presented by members of the ComfDemo consortium in the webinar on November 23th at 14:00 CET. The programme of the webinar:

14:00 Opening (Dr. Victor Norrefeldt, Manager Vehicle Climate Control Systems, Fraunhofer IBP)

14:05 Interactive start on a white board: attendees write issues in turboprop flying

14:10 Overview: aircraft interior priorities based on passengers’ opinions (Prof dr Peter Vink, vhp)

14:20 Inflight questionnaire results (prof dr Britta Herbig, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

14:30 The jacket results recording CO2, temp., humidity, acceleration etc (Dr Y. Song, TU-Delft)

14:40 Discussion starting with white board words on what do attendees remember

15:00 Break

15:10 Results of measurements in the turboprop (Dr Michael Bellmann, ITAP)

15:20 Vibration and noise in the flight and the lab (Prof Neil Mansfield, Nottingham Trent University)

15:30 Experiencing noise cancelling headphones, earplugs in turboprops (Gerbera Vledder, TU-Delft)

15:40 A comfort model based on flight data (Prof Neil Mansfield, Prof dr Britta Herbig)

16:00 Discussion/questions starting with the white board on what do you remember of the webinar

16:30 Closing

The attendance is free, if you want to join email to: Tanja Hubert (email: TanjaHubert@vhp.nl)

Download invitation flyer

Of course point-to-point, efficiency, prize, comfort and to some extend sustainability play a role in the choice. This is relevant for ComfDemo as we should try to make the comfort better to attract more passengers in the turboprop or future electrical airplane. More on this research can be found in the paper, which is free downloadable: https://medcraveonline.com/AAOAJ/AAOAJ-06-00150.pdf

Scientific research shows what the priorities are if you want to improve the aircraft interior. In improving the cabin interior the seat and noise are important elements. The priorities in the cabin interior are is based on the following studies published in the literature.

The most important one is: Vink, P., Vledder, G., Song, Y., Herbig, B., Reichherzer, A. S., & Mansfield, N. (2022). Aircraft interior and seat design: priorities based on passengers’ opinions. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 9(1), 3.

It is free downloadable at : link

For educational purposes Peter Vink made a video on ‘priorities in the cabin interior based on scientific research’.

Scientific research shows what the priorities are if you want to improve the aircraft interior. This video is a summary of this research. In improving the cabin interior the seat and noise are important elements. The priorities in the cabin interior are is based on the following studies published in the literature. The most important one is: Vink, P., Vledder, G., Song, Y., Herbig, B., Reichherzer, A. S., & Mansfield, N. (2022). Aircraft interior and seat design: priorities based on passengers’ opinions. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 9(1), 3.
It is free downloadable at : https://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcont…

Other references

– Anjani, S., Song, Y., Hou, T., Ruiter, I. A., & Vink, P. (2021). The effect of 17-inch-wide and 18-inch-wide airplane passenger seats on comfort. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 82, 103097.

– Bouwens, J., Fasulo, L., Hiemstra-van Mastrigt, S., Schultheis, U. W., Naddeo, A., & Vink, P. (2021). Being in control of noise levels improves the perception of airplane seat comfort. Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors.

– Bouwens, J., Hiemstra-van Mastrigt, S., & Vink, P. (2018). Ranking of human senses in relation to different in-flight activities contributing to the comfort experience of airplane passengers. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 5(2), 9.

– Fiorillo, I., Song, Y., Vink, P., & Naddeo, A. (2021). Designing a shaped seat-pan cushion to improve postural (dis) comfort reducing pressure distribution and increasing contact area at the interface. Proceedings of the Design Society, 1, 1113-1122.

– Vink, P., & Lips, D. (2017). Sensitivity of the human back and buttocks: The missing link in comfort seat design. Applied ergonomics, 58, 287-292. – Wegner, M. B. (2020). Seat Comfort Objectification: A new approach to objectify the seat comfort (Doctoral dissertation, Delft University of Technology).

– Yao, X., He, Y., Hessenberger, N., Song, Y., & Vink, P. (2021). Use pressure data below seat cushions to evaluate comfort. In 3rd International Comfort Congress 2021.

P. Vink, G. Vledder, Song, B. Herbig, A. S. Reichherzer, N. Mansfield published their article “Aircraft interior and seat design: priorities based on passengers’ opinions”

Abstract

Comfort is an important factor for passengers in the selection of airlines, and electric propeller aircraft will be an important element of future sustainable aviation. In this paper, we studied the order of importance of different (dis)comfort factors regarding traveling with propeller aircraft. Two experiments were conducted, one was a simulation flight on the ground with 33 participants and the other were two real flights with 97 participants. All participants were asked to rank the importance of different (dis)comfort factors in different phases of flights. Results indicated that though there are differences between the simulation and the real flights, noise, vibration and the seat are among the most important factors regarding discomfort, and space, lighting, temperature and seat are the most important factors of comfort. The results are different to those reported from previous studies on travelling by jet, where anthropometry is the most important factor. This finding suggests a difference in passenger perception between travelling by propeller propulsion and jet engines, and casts new requirements on the aircraft interior and service design for future sustainable aviation.

Read the complete article: https://commons.erau.edu/ijaaa/vol9/iss1/3/

This film gives a nice picture of the flight on November 3, 2021. The purpose of the flight was to look at the comfort of the passengers during a real flight.

During the research flight on November 3, an observation of the flight attendants was also made during each flight. During data collection, the focus was on:

1. Ergonomics: Working heights in the galleys, pushing/pulling forces in the galley and from the trolleys, trolley maneuvering.
2. Environmental aspects: temperature, vibration and noise.

We have learned very much from this observation. Respect for the work these two flight attendants do. Working together in a very small space and being so friendly and helpful to the passengers. We will share the results with you later.

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In the EU COMFDEMO project, we aim at building the digital twin regarding the comfort experience of passengers in the cabin demonstrator. For this, we will conduct a study during a real-flight to collect data on the comfort of passengers. This happend on Nov.3, 2021. We had a super good research day! All researchers were present and a total of almost 100 participants. All participants had an air travel for 70 minutes whereby data was collected regarding the basic anthropometry and their experience on comfort. The flight was from and to Rotterdam airport.

On June 22nd we conducted the pilot-study in our simulator to prepare for the real test in November. During the pilot-study we tested the procedure and looked for ways we can optimize it. Moreover, we did some final test with the comfort-jacket. An impression of the day can be seen via the video below.

Smell could influence the perceived comfort/discomfort of aircraft passengers over time, and different types of smells have different effects on passengers. The preferences on scents are diverse, which highlights the need for personalization in aircraft cabin design.

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