Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) Design Services group are supported by European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) design approved organisation scheme (DAOS) approvals.
We design, manufacture and test airborne major and minor modifications on both commercial and military aircraft. CAeS has a full range of in-house competencies that are fundamental to the services provided. Our capabilities include aerodynamic and mechanical design, stress analysis, flutter analysis, certification and avionics in design work on any current, future or historic aircraft.
CAeS has a strong reputation in fixed wing, rotary wing and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms and our extensive services include, but not limited to:
- Bespoke aircraft conversions
- Flight trials
- instrumentation and data analysis
- Certification clearance and release to service (RTS)
- Production of service bulletins (SB) and supplementary type certificates (STC)
- Form 100A and Form 100C certificates of design and airworthiness services
Projects extend from the initial requirements capture and concept design definition (including new airborne concept developments) through to delivery of modifications, installations, flight tests and delivery to the customer.
Examples include:
Wing hard-points on a King Air 350i to support 120kg. CAeS conducted a full mechanical analysis of wing structure and whole aircraft interaction, including flutter analysis of the wing-aircraft and ground vibration testing (GVT).
Modification and role change to the facility for airborne atmospheric measurements (FAAM) BAe 146-301 aircraft. Range extension fuel tanks with control and fuel flow regulation, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), International Sub-Millimetre Airborne Radiometer (ISMAR), Short Wave Spectrometer (SWS), Global Dynamic Radiosonde (GDR) and Infra-Red (IR) camera included.
ISTAR platform design and certification support for CAA / DAOS Approvals. CAeS were the structural and aerodynamic lead for ‘Major’ modifications, which included: mechanical and electrical system design, stress analysis, icing predictions, flight performance, operation loads monitoring (OLM) and wind tunnel testing.
EASA and FAA certification for Tamarack Aerospace on their Active Winglets (ATLASTM). The winglets reduce the bending load in the wing, only increases the loads near the wing tip and significantly improving fuel saving and increased cruising altitude and climb rate.
Modification design and installation for scientific equipment on a Cessna 421C for the Met Office Civil Contingency Aircraft (MOCCA). This provides an airborne sensing capability in the event of national environmental incident. Includes external probes and intakes fitted for physical and chemical analysis, as well as analysis and processing equipment within the cabin.
Conversion of an RJ70 aircraft for the Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS). Design and installation of flight test instrumentation, which included strain gauges and potentiometers around the aircraft to measure the position of flying controls and flight surfaces.
Workstations were fitted for data logging and analysis hardware and a suite of cameras were installed, as well as a Wi-fi network.
The Cranfield Aerospace Special Purpose Aircraft (CASPA) Cessna 421C provides a flexible service for specific flying services or, as part of a complete turnkey programme for research; equipment validation and certification, system simulation and multi-aircraft or role modelling operations. CASPA enables the fitting of customer specific equipment.
EASA Part 21 DOA and POA for EASA Aircraft and for non-EASA aircraft under CAA.