Global aviation industry Belfast-bound

The world’s leading aviation researchers, designers, analysts, manufacturers, integrators and operators will be attending a series of key events under the banner ‘Aviation: Industry without Borders’. The events will take place at the Europa Hotel, Belfast, from 18 to 20 September.

Identifying potential ways to address today’s challenges in economics, the environment, new aircraft designs and the exploration of new systems analysis methodologies will be just some of the issues being discussed.

Speaking about the uniqueness of Aviation: Industry without Borders, Dr. Wilson Felder of America’s Federal Aviation Association said: “This event will definitely be an exciting exchange of aviation and aviation system ideas in a unique international forum. This is certainly one of the very few times that such senior engineers from the United States, Europe and Asia will present their views on the future of aviation.”

Professor Raghu Raghunathan from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University added: “For Belfast and Northern Ireland this is an exceptional recognition of our strong aviation heritage and will inspire both young and professional engineers alike.”

Almost 200 such prospective young engineers have already signed up to take part in ‘Flight Vehicles for the Future’, a special session designed for 16-19 year olds in collaboration with W5, Northern Ireland’s interactive discovery centre. Mathematics and physics will be related to their practical applications in the area of aviation and the session will also include talks and interactive workshops focusing on innovations in the design and operation of futuristic vehicle concepts.

Other events taking place include an Invest NI sponsored opening reception at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum on 18 September and the Bombardier sponsored AIAA evening awards banquet at the Europa Hotel on 19 September.

The main conference events will include the seventh Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference (ATIO), the second Centre of Excellence for Integrated Aircraft Technology (CEIAT) International Conference on Innovation and Integration in Aerospace Sciences and the 17th Lighter-Than-Air Systems Technology Conference.

The conference general co-chairs are Dr. Wilson Felder, FAA, and Professor Raghu Raghunathan, CEIAT. Technical program co-chairs are Dr. Danielle Soban, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Dr. Mark Price, Queen’s University Belfast. Conference plenary speakers include Charles Leader, Next Generation Air Traffic System, FAA; Luc Tytgat, EUROCONTROL; Michael Friend, The Boeing Company; David Coughtrie, BAE Systems; Andrew Daw, BAE Systems; and John Green, Aircraft Research Association.