The flapless air vehicle integrated industrial research (FLAVIIR) programme in aeronautical engineering

摘要

This article describes an exciting research programme, FLAVIIR (flapless air vehicleintegrated industrial research), in Aeronautical Engineering that is developing and demonstratingnovel technologies and also forging a new approach to academic research, with emphasis onengagement with, and relevance to, industry. Traditional academic research is usually focusedon fundamental properties of technologies, proof of principles, and solution concept generation.This leaves industry to bridge the gap between this foundation work undertaken by the academicresearch and the introduction of technologies into practical products suitable for use in the realworld. The FLAVIIR programme is taking academic research further than usual so that it relatesmore closely to technology exploitation in industry and so makes a significant contribution to thepractical realization of novel technologies, so increasing the benefits delivered to industry frominvestment in academic research. In order to achieve this, the FLAVIIR programme includes, inaddition to research into the fundamental technologies themselves, an emphasis on technologyintegration into an air vehicle that is then used to demonstrate the technologies in a representativemanner. The FLAVIIR programme is enabled and funded by a strategic partnership formedbetween BAESystems and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) inAeronautical Engineering.Keywords: systems engineering