Lufthansa, new super-plane for VIPs arrives: virtual scenery and solarium
An airplane the likes of which have never been seen. This is what Lufthansa Technik AG promises with Explorer, a [...]
Lufthansa
Star Alliance
An airplane like none has ever been seen. That is what Lufthansa Technik AG promises with Explorer, a new concept intended for VIP cabins Of the German company's aircraft. Announced in September at the Monaco Yacht Show, the project was officially unveiled in recent days at the Dubai Airshow, leaving everyone astonished.
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In fact, Explorer guarantees VIP customers An unprecedented flying experience. A dynamic journey in that it is even capable of changing according to one's needs. This is all thanks to a system that implements virtual reality. The Explorer concept is based on the current trend of superyachts fulfilling two desires for their owners: to take them almost anywhere, anytime, and to serve them at their destination as an individual hotel and base camp for a wide variety of recreational activities and excursions. Lufthansa Technik specialists chose the Airbus A330 as the platform to enable private aviation customers to realize this dream as well. As a classic wide-body aircraft, it offers enough space for a large number of new ideas and is able to meet the special wishes of the Explorer target group.
Virtual projections: the highlight of Lufthansa's Explorer concept
The focal point of the German airline's new project is the Large-scale virtual projection system. This allows each VIP traveler to step into an environment of his or her choice, taking advantage of the various possibilities provided. A fascinating underwater setting was shown as an example in Munich. Now we know that other solutions will be implemented, such as a night sky or a disco.
All credit to the ambitious collaboration between Lufthansa and Diehl Aerospace, a German company specializing in aircraft interiors. In the past it has worked with Airbus, Boeing, Gulfstream but also for the Eurofighter military program.
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"By integrating Diehl's unique projection system, we have created interiors that make the most of the full potential that technology offers for VIP cabins," said Michael Bork, one of Lufthansa Technik's point architects. "It is Optimized in every technical and aesthetic aspect to provide an adequate framework and bring to life a variety of atmospheres and virtual worlds."
Sunbathing on a plane
But that's not all: the Explorer project also boasts another incredible innovation, namely the possibility of using a piece of the plane as a solarium. This is possible thanks to a special retractable balcony, made from the aircraft cargo deck, perfect for use during long breaks in airport areas.
A viewing platform for the use and consumption of VIP passengers of Lufthansa, which evokes solutions typical of luxury yachts, but implemented on a large aircraft. In fact, the Explorer project was tested, during the Dubai exhibition, on an Airbus Corporate ACJ330, but it is applicable to any wide-body category aircraft, such as the Airbus 350 and Boeing 787.
The floor in the forward fuselage area extends outward from the parked aircraft to form a spacious veranda. The main deck cargo door of the Airbus A330 freighter, now also available as a retrofit solution for passenger versions, opens the Explorer's interior to its surroundings, into which passengers can then dive directly via a platform that can be extended several meters.
Again, the Explorer concept is based on the category of yachts that already bear this name. These ships have precisely retractable elements to give their passengers even more direct contact with the environment. At a height of about four meters above the apron, passengers on the Explorer aircraft are thus offered a unique view of the surroundings and the airport, which serves as a base camp for further discoveries and excursions, for example using the vehicles carried on board.
