Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Fairchild Dornier 728JET mock-up in the company's private exhibition hall on the flight line, near the static display, is that it was completed Sunday night after only 13 weeks of work from a piece of paper-with a major design change coming in week six. The second amazing thing is that the entire interior and all its components were designed as a single unit and not slapped in as piecemeal components from various suppliers-a concept rather new to commercial aviation.

"They asked for something that was modern and classic, a balance between intrinsic character, but not so overpowering and intrusive" that individual airlines cannot insert their own identity in terms of colors, fabrics and values, said Ian Dryburgh, managing director of London-based Design Acumen, which coincidentally designed the revolutionary British Airways "Bed in The Sky."

"That was of historical significance in the airline industry," Dryburgh said of the private cubicles, noting that the firm won seven patents on the project.

Dryburgh said that the 728JET was his first (relatively) smaller aircraft project, as Design Acumen has specialized in yachts and other marine projects. "We wanted to create a backdrop for many airlines to feel comfortable," he said. "We were the only people brave enough or stupid enough to do it."

The real challenge came in week six of the project when Fairchild announced that it was reducing the cross section from 134 to 128 inches. The original outer shell was already complete, so an inner shell of the new dimensions was developed and simply slipped into the original. The change cost an additional one to two weeks, Dryburgh said.

All of the design work was performed on 3-D CAD/CAM computers and shipped via the Internet across town to Boews Design & Development Ltd., which produced the mock-up.

"We were very pleased," said Dryburgh.

By Arnold Lewis