Business Jet Interiors International - September 2021
Welcome
Izzy Kington 2021-09-14 12:54:24
The space race
The select group of people who have witnessed the beauty of Earth from space is expanding beyond the ranks of professional astronauts. A great amount of attention has turned recently to the spaceflight enterprises of three of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs – Elon Musk of SpaceX, Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin. The latter two made their first trips into space within days of each other in July 2021, and the Blue Origin craft also transported a paying customer. Virgin Galactic plans to begin its commercial flights in 2022. The factors involved in designing an interior to support this new industry of space tourism are explored in the feature on page 12.
Another transformational mode of transport to capture the imagination is the supersonic jet. In the feature on page 32, you can learn how Exosonic has modified its supersonic airliner design into an executive transport concept for the US Air Force. It will be fascinating to follow the startup’s progress as it pursues the mission of resuming supersonic travel.
Speaking of long-awaited things, NBAA-BACE is almost upon us. As well as getting the lowdown from exhibitors, in the preview from page 52 you can learn all about the new hall where the event will be held, hygiene measures and more. There is even a video that will give you a great idea of what to expect – it includes footage of the new hall’s first large-scale event, held in June 2021. In fact there are more videos in this issue than ever before; I hope this will add to your enjoyment of the magazine.
Another thing I’d like to draw your attention to is a new series where we find out exactly how popular cabin materials are made (page 38), starting with VIP carpet. Shockingly, it transpires that luxurious carpet doesn’t just magically appear – in the real world painstaking handcraft is involved. Even as innovative new forms of air transport take shape, exquisite craftsmanship never goes out of style.
Izzy Kington, editor
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