Overview
In the past years, the EU has funded an important number of research projects. These aimed at satisfying the need for innovative repair solutions for aircraft airframes, through the development of innovative elements that could assist in performing safer and more efficient repairs, in a faster and more economical way.
The combination and adaptation of developed innovations to the actual aeronautical composite repair requirements is needed. Also organised and systematic promotion towards the key players in the aeronautical industry is needed, in order to maximise the results of this investment for the EC.
Moreover, it should be stressed that the time from the generation of an innovation until its inclusion into a Structural Repair Manual (which could be considered the final application level of this technology) usually exceeds one decade. It is therefore crucial that foreground knowledge generated within EU funded research projects is appropriately disseminated to all levels of the aeronautical industry, focusing on real life applications. This will guarantee its processing and evolution throughout the different Technology Readiness Levels, instead of being constrained to scientific publications and conferences only.
This way, it will be ensured that both existing aircraft and future designs will benefit from these innovations, increasing the efficiency of the EU resources already committed to the implementation of the FP7 targets.
A consortium of key partners was assembled. They participated in a significant number of relevant research projects (under the acronyms COMPRES, SENARIO, PLASER, INDUCER, IAPETUS, COMPAIR) that have already finished or were in their final stages, in order to perform the necessary actions to achieve the goals described above.
Funding
Results
As required by the relevant topics, each research proposal funded by EU included a detailed dissemination and exploitation plan, which, for the projects already finished has been successfully concluded. However, it is evident that, due to the fragmentation of the research activities on the same topic (i.e. bonded composite repairs) in 10 different projects, none of these projects was able to autonomously provide a global overview of advancements achieved in this field to the stakeholders of the aeronautical industry. This is exactly the 'gap' which the AeroPlan project filled, by integrating all the produced technological advancements in to a single support action, targeting directly all the key players of the aeronautical industry (certification authorities, aircraft manufacturers, MROs (Maintenance / Repair / Operations), airlines and academia).
Strategy targets
Innovating for the future: A European Transport Research and Innovation Policy