Patent ID: 7614584

Claim:
A pilot rest system for use within a cockpit of an aircraft, the cockpit comprising an open interior area bounded by a front nose portion of the aircraft and an aft bulkhead extending inside the aircraft from a first side of the aircraft to a second side of the aircraft, a pilot seat and a first officer seat positioned proximate instrumentation and controls in a front portion of the open interior area for operating the aircraft and a single door positioned in the bulkhead for pilot ingress and egress to the cockpit, the bulkhead being a separating wall that is closer to the nose portion of the aircraft than any other separating wall extending between the first side and the second side inside the aircraft, the pilot rest system comprising: at least one observer seat comprising a base and a back panel positioned within a rear portion of the open interior area of the cockpit adjacent to the bulkhead and between the single door and the first side of the aircraft, said base and a floor of the cockpit defining a void therebetween; and an unoccupied space within the rear portion of the open interior area of the cockpit positioned adjacent to the bulkhead and between the at least one observer seat and the first side of the aircraft such that the unoccupied space and the void are connected to define a sleep area inside the cockpit large enough for a person to sleep in a position substantially parallel to the bulkhead, said unoccupied space being enclosed by the first side of the aircraft, the bulkhead and a retractable curtain.