Christmas Edition 2020 interFACe The magazine of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium In This Issue: Member Spotlight FAC Chief FAC office closure Executive David Barnes interview in FAC Aviation Business News Chairman Sir Beagle Technology Group Page 4 Page 2 Donald Spiers Page 1 FCoT ARIC Ground Breaking The FAC Chairman Donald Spiers attended the ground breaking ceremony for the new Aerospace Research and Innovation Centre at Farnborough College of Technology at the beginning of December and gave this speech: ‘I am delighted to be here today to take part in this ground-breaking ceremony for the new Aerospace Research and Innovation Centre. Aerospace is a very important sector of the UK economy and is supported by a large number of small engineering companies, SMEs, based in the SE of England. The year 2020 has been a difficult year for Aerospace, in both operational and manufacturing, but it will bounce back strongly in 2021 and indeed the signs are already there. One of those signs is this centre, because the future is dependent on new ideas and that requires training young engineers in Research and Innovation to develop those new ideas. FCoT has always been closely involved with the aerospace sector, and indeed Virginia Barrett is a Director of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, the trade association for SMEs in the Aerospace sector. The Government also realised the importance of innovation in aerospace some years ago and set up the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) to provide funding for SMEs to develop new ideas. FAC is involved in the administration of this programme and I have no doubt that engineers trained in this new facility will become involved in NATEP in the future. This is a most appropriate place to build this new innovation centre. Farnborough is renowned as the home of British Aviation and just 200 metres up the road from where we stand is the spot where Samuel Cody commenced his take off run to make the first powered flight in the UK. Today marks a really important step for the future of aerospace engineering in the UK and I congratulate FCoT on their great initiative.’ Please Click HERE for the ARIC newsletter and status update The FAC office will be closed from Wednesday 23rd December 2020 and will re-open on Monday 4th January 2021 FAC Membership during the Lock Down! With Alan Fisher, the FAC’s Membership Advisor Our members are very important to us which is why we have decided to offer members the option of a membership payment by monthly direct debit instead of the annual lump sum which hopefully will help you through these dark times, we have also continued to reach out to our members to see if there is anything they may need. We continue to be approached by new members and we are pleased to announce that Stress-Space Ltd are our newest recruits, and I am sure you will join me in welcoming them to FAC. Finally, the membership team is always here and should you need any support or help in anyway, please do not hesitate to contact us direct. If you wish to speak to Alan Fisher, please email him HERE We have been working hard with our members and key stakeholders and have arranged a series of virtual events entitled “Fight or Flight”. Going forward FAC would like to arrange more webinars and workshops that our members would find useful and interesting in our current climate. Please let FAC know if you are interested in any of these possible events or if you can suggest any events that you would find helpful. We have heard from some members but would welcome more responses. 1. SC21 – A users perspective 2. SiG – The road to competitiveness 3. How to do business with Airbus 4. Technology – How NATEP works for an SME 5. AAV – Leonard; the road to electrification 6. Future Flight Challenge 7. Gulfstream – From Savannah to Farnborough, an investment journey 8. Cyber Security 9. Space Technology 10. AI -the future of manufacturing 11. Preparing for Brexit 12. UK REACH Explained FAC continues to identify topics that that are of interest, but if you have a particular topic you wish to be shared please email [email protected] Onwards and Upwards The FAC Team TIME FOR A CHANGE David Barnes, chief executive of Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, addresses the subject of climate change and explains why he believes the aviation sector has an unjustified reputation when it comes to the gratuitous generation of excessive air pollution In reality, civil air transport emits between just two and four per cent of the world’s harmful emissions. Before Covid-19 emerged and disrupted the entire aviation and aerospace industry, we held our annual conference. A few words summed up the theme: the need to reduce carbon emissions and to counter climate change. As ever, we hosted speakers from a range of businesses, technologies and organisations and most, it seemed, were getting on board the flight to sustainability and carbon neutrality. Every generation of aircraft is around 20 per cent cleaner than the last and the sector is now embracing research into hybrid, electric, solar and hydrogen-powered aircraft. But the industry has an image problem; the public assumes we are carefree pollution generators and a far greater threat to the planet than is actually the case. When most of the world’s civil aircraft were grounded due to Covid-19, there was delight in some quarters. And yet, in reality civil air transport emits between just two and four per cent of the world’s harmful emissions. These percentages will reduce as research and development by aviation and aerospace companies discovers new and exciting innovations and methods. At our conference we had a speaker from Airbus, which has recently unveiled three concepts for aircraft that will fly with minimal to zero emissions. Airbus believes these aircraft could be ready for service as early as 2035. The conference also heard from Rolls- Royce, which revealed that two thirds of its R&D funding is looking at “environmental impact” and that the business now sees itself as an “industrial technology company”. It has committed to be net-zero. David Barnes, chief executive of Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, addresses the subject of climate change and explains why he believes the aviation sector has an unjustified reputation when it comes to the gratuitous generation of excessive air pollution carbon across its operations by 2030. Nearer to home, Farnborough Airport has been carbon neutral since 2018.The progress towards lowering emissions is undeniable, but it requires a booming sector to fund further success. It follows that if we do not get back to where we were pre-Covid-19, the resources businesses have to fund programmes of change will diminish. If that happens, the research and development that looks at how to make a greener future for aerospace will obviously be affected. I believe that demand for air travel will recover from the Covid-19 setback and will continue to grow and that this should be embraced and encouraged by governments. By doing so, increased revenues will continue to be directed into R&D activities that will ultimately make air travel substantially free from excess carbon generation. Clearly, the sector’s down-turn since the coronavirus outbreak is not just a tragedy for those who have lost their livelihoods, but for the growth towards pollution-free air travel. By assisting the aerospace sector and those innovative and highly skilled businesses in its supply chain – mostly SMEs – the government would be helping to achieve its manifesto pledges on climate change. These businesses make a positive contribution to our national wellbeing and were able to divert resources in the early stages of the pandemic to distribute essential products such as hand sanitiser, ventilators and PPE. We have a world-leading aerospace sector and by investing in it and offering further assistance during the pandemic the government would be helping the economy, as well as helping to create a greener sector. We add our voices to those pleading for government assistance on behalf of the aviation and aerospace industry. Please look favourably on the need to provide help to this vital sector; any help will be doubly rewarded. Jon Dennison's bursary fund helping disadvantaged young people realise their potential The Engineering Development Trust (EDT) would like to thank the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) and in particular, GKN Aerospace for their continued support to the Jon Dennison Bursary Fund. The bursary supports free places on EDT Insight into University Courses for selected young people, to encourage the next generation of STEM professionals. Jon Dennison enjoyed a long and successful career in aerospace engineering, and this fund in his memory aims to honour the passion Jon had for helping disadvantaged young people to realise their potential. The funding will be utilised for a further two years to support ‘Insight into University (Headstart/Inspire)’, a UK-wide programme, providing opportunities for 15 to 18 year olds to spend up to a week at a UK university (courses are currently virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions) prior to making their UCAS application. Young people completing the course receive Industrial Cadets Silver Awards. The courses are designed to increase confidence, help students make well informed decisions about their future & showcase a range of pathways to STEM careers. Participants get the chance to attend lectures, meet students and academics, visit local companies and participate in practical problem-solving activities. This unique blend of learning, networking and having fun provides the perfect mix to understanding what type of career might lie ahead and help students make a more informed UCAS application.