We built LifePort on a commitment to design and manufacture the very best medevac and air ambulance interiors in the business. In order to do so, our team of designers and engineers relies heavily on composite materials. We sell the same composites we use in our own designs to customers looking to use them in theirs. Needless to say, composite materials are critical to custom aircraft interiors.
Composites are so important to what we do that they now play a vital role in the design process. Every air ambulance, medevac unit, and VIP aircraft we work on ultimately boasts an interior featuring more composite materials than most people know. Simply put, composites play such a critical role because they affect everything from capacity and safety to configuration and function.
Their Two Core Benefits
Composite materials like carbon fiber, honeycomb panels, and long-fiber thermoplastics are used widely throughout aerospace and aviation. They dominate the modern cabin environment of nearly every aircraft. There are two core benefits that make composites so valuable for aircraft interiors:
1. Strength-to-Weight
Every material an aerospace designer considers must be looked at in terms of its strength and weight. Materials need to be strong enough to withstand the rigors of air travel. But if they are excessively heavy, their strength benefits are diminished.
Composite materials have an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. For example, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are much stronger than both steel and aluminum while being significantly lighter.
2. Fatigue and Impact Resistance
Aircraft components must be able to resist fatigue and impact for obvious reasons. And given that most of the composites utilized in aviation are fiber-reinforced, they offer excellent fatigue and impact resistance.
As a bonus, composite materials can be engineered to meet specific needs. That is important in aerospace and aviation, where designers face stringent regulations regarding flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST). Every medevac and air ambulance must meet FST and heat-release requirements before being certified to fly.
Medevac and Air Ambulance Aircraft
Specifically where medevac and air ambulance aircraft are concerned, composite materials facilitate the creation of highly customized interiors. The air medical interior must be designed around clinical capabilities first. Every ounce saved in cabinetry, panels, etc. can be reallocated to medical gear and supplies. Even patient capacity can be increased if interior weight can be reduced enough.
A designer working on a medevac helicopter can reduce weight by several hundred pounds just by pushing more structure into optimized composite designs. Save that much weight, and you can get an extra passenger on board.
Composite materials also lend themselves very well to integrated medical modules. In essence, we can build medical aircraft interiors with a modular design. Modules can be swapped in and out depending on the needs of each mission.
VIP Aircraft Interiors
In a VIP setting, composite materials are important for other reasons. The big thing is creating interiors with luxury finishes and custom cabinetry. Using composites instead of traditional materials makes all sorts of customizations possible without excessive weight to worry about.
In addition, advanced composites enhance configuration freedom. Designers can move interior components around while keeping loads within structural capacity. The icing on the cake is the reduced noise and vibrations that come with composite material design.
Our role as a designer and builder of custom aircraft interiors is one that we relish. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without modern composite materials. We invite you to take a look at our composite material offerings for use within your own projects. They really make an enormous difference.
