The Hamburg Messe will once again host Aerospace Testing as it moves north to line up alongside the Aircraft Interiors Expo and the European Telemetry Conference in 2010. According to exhibition director Jonathan Heastie, the change of location is an opportunity for the event to reconnect with the major aerospace hub in the Hamburg area as well as an opportunity to re-engage the commercial market, which will be particularly important as crucial programmes such as the A350 XWB progress through their development cycles.
“It is an important time to focus on other visitors in Germany,” He explains. “There will always be a group of visitors for any type of show that come in from the local city, and having spent three years in Munich, it's important to come back to Hamburg where Airbus and Lufthansa Technik have large bases and to bring out their test engineers, who our exhibitors haven't had a chance to engage with at the show for some time.”
As with many recent exhibitions, the focus is on increasing the level of information available to visitors, especially those with little time to spare. Therefore, beyond the usual array of exhibitors, the 2010 event will again host a free programme of over 60 technical seminars covering a wide range of testing disciplines on the show floor, including presentations from Airbus, BAE Systems and a host of large and small innovative companies. Over the three days, sessions will be grouped into key subjects, including structural testing, engine testing, aerodynamics, NDT, avionics, telemetry, materials and composites, data acquisition and sensor technology, ground testing, design and simulation and a career and development forum. A flight testing seminar programme is also being run by the Society of Flight Test Engineers on the 19th.
“Last year we introduced trails around the key testing disciplines and the programme relates to the trails, so they have both exhibitors to meet and content to hear,” adds Heastie. “As it's such a fractured industry, it allows an engineer with one particular need to go straight to where they want to.”
Regarding the technological developments that visitors can expect, he continues: “One thing I know from talking to the OEMs is that they are all keen to bring development times for new aircraft down. While the actual pillars of testing don't change very much, what I am seeing is the hardware and software that supports many processes becoming quicker. The challenge has always been delivering products as quick as possible because that's where the money is lost. The increased use of UAVs also means that more sophisticated data acquisition technologies are appearing, and of course, as composite materials continue to evolve, testing techniques need to move with them.”
Concluding the exhibition, there will also be a career and development day on the 20th, with a selection of workshops and presentations from industry representatives including a presentation by Airbus on how to get involved in the aerospace sector. As part of this, the Young Aerospace Engineer of the Year Awards will also make a return. Organised in conjunction with EUCASS (the European Conference for AeroSpace Sciences) the scheme comprises two awards: ‘Scientific' and ‘Technology and Innovation', both of which will be announced at Aerospace Testing, with the winners presenting an overview of their projects.
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