A Staggering Certification: Molon Labe’s S1 cleared by FAA

Development complete. Customer contract signed. And now, another huge milestone as Molon Labe’s “S1” staggered short-haul economy seat receives FAA certification for use on commercial aircraft. The certification is the culmination of eight years of research, simulation and testing.

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Molon Labe cooperated closely with manufacturing partner Primus Aerospace to ensure that the build process would meet the FAA’s requirements. Primus, in turn, expanded its manufacturing facilities in Colorado to account for the component build and assembly processes for the S1 seats. Molon Labe CEO Hank Scott is keen on the tight partnership and local resources available for the work, “One of the advantages of our production partnership with Primus Aerospace is the years of seating component experience they bring to the table and the vertical integration that results in over 75% of our seat components being machined and assembled in-house. This reduces the uncertainty much of the industry has suffered by stretching their supply lines.”

Read More: Staggered seating set to soar: Molon Labe secures launch customer

For structural development and testing Molon Labe partnered with National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR) to develop a light but
strong design. All dynamic and static tests were conducted digitally first to confirm the design would pass. NIAR also conducted the dynamic tests including 14G, 16G and HIC tests.

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Molon Labe announced a launch customer for the S1 late in 2018, though the airline was not named at that time. The company teased additional potential deals earlier this year but, again, no specific names came to the fore. Scott suggests that larger airlines are now deep in conversation about the possibility of choosing the seat, a position aided by securing the certification.

Weighing in at just under 9kg per passenger the S1 is not the lightest seat on the market, though it claims the title of widest. The unique design offers more shoulder room for passengers, not just narrower arm rests.