Regional aircraft innovation takes a great leap forward
Regional airlines serving small hubs or airports typically use regional jets and turboprops designed to fly around 20 to 130 passengers on short- to medium-haul flights. By the end of 2015, the regional aviation world fleet comprised about 9 000 units (4 350 turboprops and 4 650 regional jets). Around 40 % of commercial flights were operated by regional aircraft, accounting for 25 % of total flight hours. The regional aircraft market is currently led by non-European players, with the exception of turboprop manufacturer ATR (a joint venture between Airbus S.A.S and Leonardo S.p.A.). The European aeronautical industry needs to invest in new or improved – greener – technologies to assume a leadership role in the challenging regional sector.
Advanced technology demonstrators for regional aircraft
Clean Sky 2’s REG GAM 2018 project, part of the Regional Innovative Aircraft Demonstration Platform (IADP), aimed to develop technologies suitable for advanced regional and multi-missions aircraft, and to integrate and validate them at aircraft level (up to technology readiness level 6). The Demonstration programmes comprise two flying test beds and four integrated ground demonstrators – full-scale innovative fuselage and passenger cabin, iron bird and outer wing box. The project focused on lightweight, low-cost composites designed in an eco-friendly way, innovative wing design and fuselage structural health monitoring, as well as pioneering on-board and flight control systems and manufacturing and assembly technologies. The critical design reviews were successfully completed for ground demonstrators.
Flying test bed demonstrators for more fuel-efficient aircraft
Among the cutting-edge technologies, the two flying test bed demonstrators will feature an innovative adaptive wing and a high-efficiency, low-noise wing. Partners will validate various technologies such as active wing, adaptive aerodynamics, natural laminar flow, high lift devices, morphing structure, advanced loads control and alleviation, system integration and advanced carbon fibre reinforced polymer wing structures. Modifications started for the multi-missions demonstrator.
Innovative fuselage and passenger cabin demonstrators
The structural demonstrator will feature advanced technologies for high-toughness composite materials, integrated structural concepts, structural health monitoring and damage detection. For the Pax-Cabin demonstrator, the human-centred cabin design, the environmental control system and thermal management are frozen. “Increased comfort and well-being in the passenger cabin will contribute to improving the passenger in-flight experience in advanced regional aircraft,” notes Vito Perrupato, project manager at Leonardo Aircraft. The full-scale wing box will validate technologies for innovative low cost and low weight structure design and assembly. Beneficiaries have designed the upper panel fabrication tool chain.
An iron bird is a ground based ‘sister ship’ aircraft that never flies but stays in a laboratory, undergoing constant tests and analyses to verify and validate on-board system performances to support the design process. For example, it assesses the performance of the electric power generation and distribution system, the environmental control and electromechanical actuator systems. Project members manufactured the iron bird skeleton. The Regional Aircraft IADP is a large family of more than 100 SMEs, research centres, universities and industries with the aim of maturing technologies to help Europe meet its climate goals. “In commercial aviation, the regional aircraft market continues to be a key growth sector of the airline industry and significantly contributes to creating an efficient air transport system, ensuring safe and seamless mobility, creating new jobs, while also respecting the environment towards a European carbon neutrality deal,” Perrupato concludes.
Keywords
REG GAM 2018, Regional Aircraft (REG), Innovative Aircraft Demonstration Platform (IADP), wing, fuselage, passenger cabin, systems, full-scale demonstrators, flying test bed
