Aviation
An unforgettable week
This year, the random overlapping of two gigantic worldwide famous aviation events offered a one-of-a-kind spectacle, spanning every segment of the industry.
Jul 2024
As in an exceptional astral conjunction, one of those that occur once in a while, in this month, during the same week from the 22nd to the 28th of July, the Farnborough International Airshow and the EAA (Experimental Aviation Association) AirVenture were held at the same time, with all the interest and active participation of the aviation world concentrated both towards Great Britain and the United States: from Farnborough to Oshkosh.
The week was certainly busy for the insiders who untangled themselves between two huge events, in two continents and time zones far apart, but who could also feel extremely satisfied with the show offered in the two local airports where the events took place (respectively, Farnborough and Wittman Regional airports), as well as with the involvement of numerous customers, partners and visitors.
The Farnborough International Airshow has confirmed itself as the place-to-be for civil and military aviation on a global scale, with a significant participation of companies, institutions and, above all, a large presence of enthusiasts and experts in the sector. A week full of meetings, presentations, side events and order signatures for new planes, helicopters and services.
GE Aerospace, in its first participation as an independent public company, stood out among the ranks of chalets (the typical structures similar to small houses or exhibition halls that host the big brands in the sector during the show) on board the runway designated for take-off and landing of the most modern aircraft engaged in flight demonstrations. This year, the grand pavilion marked by the famous "monogram" also hosted an additional chalet dedicated to the Propulsion & Additive Technologies companies: Avio Aero, Unison, Dowty Propellers and Colibrium Additive.
Since the Sunday before the opening, GE Aerospace programs and engines – and those of its joint venture with Safran Aircraft Engines, CFM International – made the headlines of the major media with new, important results: from the certification of the Airbus A321 XLR equipped with LEAP engines, to the announcements of new contracts with airlines and aircraft manufacturers (especially for GEnx engines, GE9X as well as LEAP) and agreements for maintenance and service, up to the news for military programs and advances in new technologies being developed in the field of sustainability for the future of flight.
Looking at other exhibit areas close-by, the premiere display of the conceptual model of the new generation aircraft that will be developed by the companies of the three partner nations in the Global Combat Air Programme, namely Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan, certainly grab the spotlight. Inside the newly designed exhibit pavilion created for the GCAP, a new mockup that features an evolved design with a larger wingspan than previous concepts in order to improve the aerodynamics of the aircraft.
The next-generation fighter, which will enter service in 2035, will be one of the most advanced, interoperable, adaptable and connected aircraft in the world, also counting on innovative capabilities in terms of propulsion and power management systems. There, the Power & Propulsion domain was represented as well by the three partner companies – Avio Aero, Rolls-Royce and IHI – through videos and interactive screens.
At the GCAP booth, each partner company was present with its experts. For Avio Aero, four engineers and managers welcomed visitors and international personalities to illustrate the general characteristics and propulsion technology of the new defense program. "It was interesting and pleasant to share this experience with other colleagues," says Flavio, one of the four Avio Aero experts at the GCAP stand. "The opportunity to be able to exhibit our work to the most important political, military and industrial offices from all over the world is certainly a source of great satisfaction".
The core of the airshow was, as usual, the static exhibition and the fascinating flight exhibitions, where those present were able to see the new Airbus A321XLR, freshly certified, with its two CFM LEAP-1A engines, but also several military aircraft, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and – only in static display – the Airbus A400M, with its powerful TP400 engines that include the equally powerful Avio Aero power transmissions.
Also of note was the Italian presence at the 2024 edition of the Farnborough Airshow, with participation ranging from large companies such as Leonardo and Avio Aero, but also from the Regions, technological clusters and the entire aerospace supply chain that form one of Italy's strengths in the sector. Avio Aero participated in the conference held by the Piedmont Region and dedicated to the development of industry and technologies in the territory.
On the other side of the Atlantic, in the small town of Oshkosh (Wisconsin), the EAA AirVenture was held as usual and, like every year, gathered over 600 thousand people, including amateurs and aviation enthusiasts, families, media and exhibiting companies – with a particular focus on medium or small aircraft, propeller or jet engines, in the segment called Business & General Aviation focused on private aviation.
For a week, Oshkosh becomes some kind of "Woodstock of aviation", hosting tens of thousands of small private planes (which camp out on the vast green spaces and airfields, equipped with tents finely mounted on the side of the aircraft, under the wing) and numerous attractions: from chalets to exhibition spaces of the industry players, to EAA facilities which host forums, training centers for the most varied professions related to flight, entertainment and merchandise, beyond the acrobatics, spectacular flight performances of planes and helicopters of all kinds and, above all, from historical eras ranging from the 50s (with the "warbirds") to the most modern fighters.
For the 2024 edition of AirVenture, GE Aerospace opened a completely revamped exhibit space, with an attractive design and designed to accommodate droves of visitors: also developed on two floors, the new pavilion was inspired by aeronautical hangars and built by recovering spacious containers (of those used in naval trade, for example) that gave a look that was both modern and industrial.
GE Aerospace's new stand in Oshkosh featured an open area with wooden seating in front of the ground floor’s Pikes Peak stage: presentations and demos dedicated to leading products and technologies of the future followed one another on stage. But even to the history of aviation, as evoked by the very name of the stage (i.e., the peak of Colorado where at the beginning of the last century the altitude tests of the turbosupercharger by Sanford Moss and the GE engineering team) and, in this case, the birth of the first jet engine for military aviation in the United States by the famous "Hush Hush boys”.
Around the central stage, on the left, an area dedicated to careers where visitors and young enthusiasts or recent graduates could approach the GE Aerospace world and interact with the HR and Talent Acquisition team present throughout the week. On the right, another hangar that housed the exhibition of Avio Aero's turboprop engines (with the debut of the real model of the new Catalyst engine for the Beechcraft Denali, and the H80 engine next to it), a series of touch screens with high tables that set up an area dedicated to workshops on aircraft engine technology and Lean manufacturing practices.
The upper floor of the brand new pavilion in Oshkosh - surrounded by a green lawn in the style of AirVenture's typical spaces with skill and interactive games - was instead a hospitality area: a spacious terrace with a wide visual angle on the flight line from which every afternoon offered seamless evolutions and acrobatics displays (and for two evenings the exciting night fireworks show that for this edition also featured hundreds of drones to draw shapes and messages in the sky) and a lounge room named after the "Hush Hush" for the occasion, also housed inside a container.
Photo credits, Alex Schroff - GE Aerospace, Stefano Rostagno - Avio Aero.
