Helicopter Interior Parts Catalog

Helicopter Interior Parts and Components

The interior parts of a helicopter encompass everything not mounted on the exterior of the aircraft, or in the engine compartment. This includes everything from the flight instruments, controls, and display panels, to the seating and safety harnesses the crew and passengers use, to the panels, windows, and doors that cover and seal the compartment. Helicopter Interior category does not include items related to electronics or avionics however, as they have their own category for the sake of convenience and simplicity while browsing our website. 

Fuselage

The fuselage comprises the main body of the aircraft, holding the crew, passengers, and cargo. In most aircraft, it will also contain the engine or engines that power the machine. Several different types of fuselage construction exist, such as truss, where the structure of the aircraft is made from steel tube trusses that have been welded together, then covered with paneling.  Most all-aluminum fuselages are made with the semi-monocoque method. Frames in the shape of the fuselage cross sections are held in position, then joined with longitudinal connectors called stringers. These elements are then covered with a skin of sheet aluminum, then riveted or bonded with adhesives. 

Windows

The front windshields on an aircraft are made from multiple layers of chemically treated glass or plastic, because they must be resilient enough to withstand the impact a foreign object and still maintain pilot visibility and safety. Passenger and cabin windows are made from lighter stretched acrylic glass, and consist of multiple panes, including an outer pane to maintain cabin pressure, an inner pane for redundancy, and a scratch pane facing the passenger. 

Seating and Safety Harnesses

The seating in a helicopter depends on multiple factors, such as the size of the crew compartment, and the purpose of the aircraft. The seats on the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter are thin and uncushioned to make as much room as possible for troops and their equipment, while a Eurocopter Hermes EC 135 will feature fine leather upholstery. All aircraft are required to have proper safety harnesses for all passengers and crew that keep them safely restrained at all hours of operation. These harnesses have multiple points of contact with the seat, ensuring that even if one strap fails, the others will keep the passenger or pilot in their seat.