Business aviation is climbing again
13.09.2011
Hit with a market drop of 23% for turbojet business A/C in 2009, the market downturn of the business aviation industry continued in 2010 with another decrease by 9% and the market volume settling at USD 15.7 bn. However, the total market for business A/C is projected by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to grow again starting in 2011 at an average rate of 6.9% reaching a total market size of USD 30.7 bn in 2020. Pre-crisis levels of USD 22.9 bn are expected to be reached not prior to 2015. [more...]
Coverstory
Engine technologies are trumps
13.09.2011
The short and medium range represents the highest volume market segment for commercial passenger aircraft. In view of the fact that both Airbus and Boeing are shying away from completely new developments for this deployment profile, simply making the A320 and the 737 more economical by means of technical modifications instead, the time is ripe for the engine manufacturers to advance developments. [more...]
Structure assembly line for russian MS-21 will be made in Germany
02.09.2011
Premium AEROTEC further expands its service business with industrial production systems for aircraft manufacturing. The company will set up a structure assembly line for the new Russian commercial aircraft programme MS-21 in cooperation with mechanical and plant engineering group Dürr. [more...]
Airbus in Nantes delivers first A350 XWB Centre Wing Box to Airbus in St Nazaire
09.08.2011
The first A350 XWB centre wing box has been delivered from Airbus’ site in Nantes, France to Airbus’ St Nazaire, France facility where it will be assembled into the first A350 XWB fuselage. The impressive A350 XWB centre wing box, made from 40% carbon fibre reinforced plastics, measures 6.5 metres by 5.5 metres and is 3.9 metres tall. [more...]
DLR and Airbus test electric nose wheel in taxiing test at Hamburg airport
07.07.2011
On July 1st 2011, DLR’s A320 ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) taxied around Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport propelled by an electric nose wheel. In the taxiing tests, researchers and engineers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), Airbus and Lufthansa Technik demonstrated a fuel cell-powered electric nose wheel. [more...]
The non-touch innovation
30.06.2011
On board many Airbus passenger aircraft, you’ll find the lightest washstand the market has to offer. It achieves its lightness thanks to a bionic honeycomb design from Schüschke. The latest innovation from the company, which employs 50 members of staff and is managed by Uwe Schüschke, and its partner EME – Elektro-Metall Export, is a non-touch waste flap. [more...]
“Seat optimizers” are in great demand
30.06.2011
A comfortable passenger seat is more than just the physical connection between passenger and airplane. Ideally, it is also a connection between the passenger and the airline and inspires customer loyalty. Seat producers are facing a difficult task: They have to merge comfort, function, design and efficiency. Aerotec author Barbara Stumpp wanted to know how they manage to achieve this feat again and again and entered the world of “seat optimizers.”
The new seating systems for passenger planes are not only lighter, but also easier to handle. Both of these benefits will pay off for any airline. [more...]
More entertainment, more modules
30.06.2011
Airlines are competing for the favour of passengers by offering onboard atmosphere and interior outfitting. By conceiving new innovations aimed at making flights more enjoyable, also new In-Flight Entertainment Systems (IFE) could play an important role. These and other features installed in cabins for the benefit of passengers on request of the airlines are becoming increasingly modular in order to cope with the complexity of options. [more...]
Less noise means more money
30.06.2011
Vying for the growing business segment of turboprops, planemakers are trying to gain a competitive edge by overcoming one of the major drawbacks of turboprops – propeller noise. Hawker Beechcraft found a way to avoid the extremely expensive and time-consuming trial-and- error way of noise reduction by using LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics technology. [more...]
Laserbeams keep control
30.06.2011
Quality is of the utmost importance to the aerospace industry. Small wonder then that leading engine manufacturers like MTU Aero Engines use a laser controlled optical measuring system on over 100 machines. The process stability which the laser system offers is helping to achieve the best possible manufacturing results. [more...]
