Asia’s largest aerospace and defence event returns to Singapore again, where the latest tech and aircraft are showcased to eager stakeholders and aviation fans alike.
This article will highlight the technology on display at the show, much of it related to manufacturing and maintenance in the global aviation hub that is Singapore (we will take a look at the aircraft debuting at the airshow in a separate article). This year 1,062 companies from 50 countries and regions will be participating in the exhibition. Obviously, we can’t cover all of them, so here are a few of the main features.
Pratt & Whitney
Engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney are celebrating their 35th year in the Asia-Pacific region this year, and it has marked the occasion with the inauguration of the GP7200 engine overhaul facility—located right here in Singapore.
“At Pratt & Whitney, we are excited to inaugurate the GP7200 overhaul capability in Asia,” said Brendon McWilliam, senior director, Aftermarket Operations Asia-Pacific, Pratt & Whitney. “While the engine center is a center of excellence for engine overhaul and repair services across multiple engine lines, our operations in this region offer a wide range of engine maintenance, repair and overhaul services for operators in this region.”
In addition to being a global overhaul center for the GP7200 and PW4000 engines, the facility is will be equipped with overhaul capabilities for the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) PW1100G-JM engine by 2019. The GP7200 powers the Airbus A380 for Emirates and Air France, and has achieved a 99.9 percent departure reliability rating.
Pratt & Whitney also announced today that it will be introducing Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition and laser cladding operations at its Turbine Overhaul Services center in Singapore.
Traditional welding operations have been replaced with laser cladding technology. Technicians previously had to manually weld materials together, a process that is highly dependent on an individual’s skill level. With the laser cladding machine, workers can now perform the task with minimal supervision to achieve lower re-work rates. Similar to additive manufacturing, this laser cladding technology deposits coatings on blade tips at a near 99 percent first-time pass rate.
The improved Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition process will allow the application of thermal barrier ceramic coatings on engine components to protect surfaces against corrosive environments for current and new Geared Turbofan engines. The process increases the length of time between repairs for these components and helps to increase overall durability.
ST Engineering
Home grown engineering company ST Electronics has its own pavilion at this year’s airshow, which is divided into three specialized clusters focusing on Aviation, Defence and Smart Cities.
Being a fan of VR, aviation and simulation, the C-130 VR trainer caught my attention in the Aviation Cluster. The VR simulator, which is designed to be a training aid for use during avionic systems upgrades, allows flight crews to get some virtual hands-on experience with their new gear. What is notable about this system is that it allows multicrew simulation, meaning that the entire crew can be present during the simulation at any given time for specified tasks (like with an MMORPG video game).
The VR trainer being showcased simulates a part task trainer, where visitors or users can be immersed in a virtual cockpit training environment to experience both procedural and scenario training. Users can experience the virtual cockpit, as well as encounter simulated scenarios such as terrain avoidance.
Also, the ST Engineering Aviation Cluster includes a sneak peek into research being conducted on unmanned freighters. It seems that ST Engineering is not planning to make cargo aircraft completely unmanned just yet, but is instead going for a softer approach by removing the copilot from the equation, and making the cockpit a single-seater rather than two-seater option.
At the ST Engineering pavilion, the company is showing a solution in which the copilot is based on the ground, and can monitor the flight of the modified Airbus A320/A321 freighter from a Ground Control System(GCS).
The benefit of this approach is that the copilot on the ground can divide their time between up to 12 different aircraft simultaneously. The GCS display shows how it can support and control a fleet of single-pilot freighters performing functions such as auto takeoff, auto altitude change, auto weather avoidance, and remote intervention and control of the aircraft.