Project
General Objectives
- Time to market reduction by 2 years
- Development cost reduction by 20%
- Reduction of manufacturing and assembly costs by 16%
- Propulsion unit efficiency and affordability
- Optimization of selected aircraft systems
Time to market reduction by 2 years
Nowadays it takes on average 6-7 years to design, develop and fully certify a small passenger aircraft. The goal of the CESAR project is to reduce development time necessary for this category of aircraft to 4 years (28% reduction). Such improvement can be done through the use of reliable and affordable design tools, mainly for aerodynamic and structural design and integrated software environment enabling virtual simulation of the aircraft.
Development cost reduction by 20%
The development costs form part of the aircraft selling price. Using convenient and affordable design tools and methodologies, with straightforward applicability to project and knowledge management can bring significant effects in terms of development cost reduction. The goal of the CESAR project is to reduce development cost at least by 20%.
Reduction of manufacturing and assembly costs by 16%
The production effectiveness depends on materials used and on particular production technologies, joining processes and on assembly itself. The majority of these production factors, related primarily to the airframe of the aircraft, are already determined at the early stages of the aircraft design. A distinct part of expenses is formed by power plant (20-30%) and by other aircraft systems (15-30%) that are also addressed by the project. The goal of the CESAR project is to reduce assembly costs by 16%.
Propulsion unit efficiency and affordability
Affordable turboprop engines powered of 200-400 kW are not available on the European market. The only option for today airplane manufacturers which need such power-plants is to buy them from the companies based in the North America. CESAR can give a real chance to change this nearly monopoly situation. The project will challenge technologies to reduce fuel consumption by 5 to 15% employing modern propeller and engine control system. New propeller propulsion units can reduce noise emissions in the far field by 3 to 6 dB(A). The plan is also to reduce overall engine weight by 7-9%.
Optimization of selected aircraft systems
HUMS (Health and Usage Monitoring System) customized for small airplane should reduce maintenance costs by 30% and improve serviceability.
New technologies based on electro-hydraulic and electromechanical actuation technologies (EHA, EMA) specifically tuned for small commercial aircraft can contribute to the aircraft weight reduction and operational cost-efficiency.
Air systems are essential part of passenger? s comfort aboard an aircraft. For small airplanes such technologies must be low-weighted and very affordable. Reduction of air systems noise by 5 dB can improve passengers comfort in cabin and reduce even external noise emissions. CESAR seriously tries to cope with these issues.
