To prove the point, here's a blast from the past; the VC10 was possibly the best example of prioritising strength and performance over commercial reality (leaving SST on one side). I think that these numbers are reasonably typical;
Weight ("Operating empty" ie APS)
Standard 66,670 Kg
Super 71,137 Kg
Seats
Standard 109 in 2 classes
Super 139 in 2 classes
Weight per seat
Standard 611 Kg
Super 512 Kg
By way of contrast, the contemporary B707-320B had a typical APS of 66,406kg, with typical 2-class configuration of 147, thus 452 Kg per seat.
A DC7C was about 345 Kg/seat APS. A C172 is about 150 Kg/seat empty. The longer DC8 variants were about 345 Kg/seat APS, with max seating.
However......B787-8 with 457 Kg/seat APS pretty much matches the B707-320B with 452 Kg/seat, built about 50 years ago, if my figures and the figures provided in this thread are right.
And the stretched DC8s were far lighter per seat, at 345 Kg/seat APS.
B747-400 is about 435 Kg/seat APS, depending on configuration.
Airbus A380 is 499 Kg/seat APS.
All these numbers are dependent on configuration, but the main thrust of the argument doesn't change significantly when actual operating aircraft/fleet configurations are looked at.
So the APS/empty operating weight per seat seems to be increasing slightly for long-haul aircraft, in spite of all the new lightweight construction materials etc. Ditched has also pointed this out.
This came as a great surprise, when I started looking at older aircraft to illustrate the point that weights are coming down, only to find that they are not.
Now why is that?
Last edited by Capot; 14th Dec 2014 at 18:35.