THE PROJECT
In production since the mid-90s, the 407 is a popular and versatile utility aircraft manufactured by Bell Helicopter. For this project, we provided all of the interior furnishings (excluding plastics, door sills, and seatbelts) for an Australian client’s Bell 407. That meant supplying upholstery for seven seats: two crew seats, two rear-facing passenger seats (these pairs sit back-to-back), and three front-facing passenger seats located on the rear bulkhead. All the parts used for this project, including the overcovers for all the seats, can be found on Generation Global’s website.
GALLERY
We styled the trim and seats for this helicopter with Saddle Brown leather (ADI-4111), which stands out against the otherwise black interior. Each seat sported horizontal seams running between its two bolsters. To add a sharp finishing touch to the seats, we embroidered the Bell Helicopter logo into each seatback using a handsome Rye Beige stitching.
The headrests on the crew seats double as headrests for the rear-facing seats. To make sure everything was uniformly-themed, the armrest on the doors and sidewalls, the raised armrest between the rear-facing seats, and even the document pocket were all styled using the same leather as the seats.
For this aircraft’s flooring, we used Black City carpet, which matched the interior’s black plastic trim kit as well as the black exterior livery. The carpets extend below the seats and up the sides of each raised armrest. We bound each carefully-cut carpeting piece with mesh binding and also provided a floor protector for both the front and rear of the aircraft. Each control boot - made to fit like gloves - was crafted from black leather (ADI-1091) so they’d subtly blend in with the rest of the interior.
THE CLIENT
Our client for this project was an international aviation consortium based in Canada - they boast branches in North and South America as well as Australia. The client buys, sells, and leases helicopters and also provides parts and maintenance services.
