Delhi Airport Spicejet Akasa Collision A ground collision between two passenger aircraft at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday raised fresh concerns over airport safety, after a taxiing SpiceJet plane struck a stationary aircraft belonging to Akasa Air. The incident…
Air India Raises Fuel Surcharge Air travel is likely to become more expensive as Air India has increased its fuel surcharge for both domestic and international flights. The new charges will be applicable from April 8, 2026, while some international…
FLY91 has announced the addition of Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Hubballi to its network, along with five new sectors, as the Goa-headquartered regional airline expands its operations across southern and south-central India. Services will be introduced in phases between April 10…
Korea’s regional aviation market is beginning to see capacity take shape, with new entrant SUM Air placing an order for up to eight ATR 72-600 aircraft as it prepares to scale operations beyond its initial domestic routes. ATR confirmed that…
Pune Airport Runway News Pune Airport operations returned to normal on Saturday morning after an overnight runway shutdown caused by an Indian Air Force fighter aircraft incident, which led to widespread flight cancellations, delays and diversions. The disruption began late…
At Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, technical trials show that a fully biometric, contactless international passenger journey—ticketing, booking management, and airport processing, can be handled in a single integrated digital framework. The exercise brought together the DigiYatra Foundation, Bangalore International Airport…
Standing against the backdrop of freshly laid tarmac at the sweeping new terminal at Jewar, the newly constructed airport, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, sought to put the occasion into perspective. “This is a new chapter for Viksit Uttar Pradesh,…
Global aviation is on a growth trajectory that infrastructure alone cannot sustain. Passenger volumes are expected to nearly double by 2040, and the industry has long accepted that new terminals and additional runways alone will not be enough to absorb…
Business aviation projects rarely fail on intent—they stall in execution. From aircraft completions and pre-purchase inspections to maintenance oversight and cross-border acquisitions, the pressure points today lie in timelines, supply chains and technical alignment between stakeholders. As demand for both…
Every April, as the snow retreats from the Garhwal Himalayas, a small fleet of helicopters begins the most unglamorous work in Indian aviation. Back and forth, dozens of times a day, between the helipad at Phata and the shrine at…
For most Indian corporates that own a business jet or helicopter, operating one has never been straightforward. Between a punishing tax structure, the obligation to set up a separate aviation company and the absence of any formal framework to outsource…
Connectivity expectations in aviation are now shaped by what passengers and flight departments use on the ground — video calls, secure corporate networks and continuous access to information. In business aviation, that expectation now travels with the aircraft. Across India…
The next leap in civil aviation fuel efficiency may not come from a radically different engine architecture. It may come from something already familiar, the turbofan made smarter, more adaptable, and more connected to a broader electrical system. That is…
Twenty years of engineering investment, a supply chain running through Indian manufacturers, a training infrastructure feeding the workforce Indian aviation needs, and a next-generation engine built specifically for the operating conditions that define flying across the subcontinent— Pratt & Whitney has…
American Airlines and CFM International (“CFM”) today announced that American’s future deliveries of Airbus A321neo aircraft will continue to be powered by the CFM LEAP-1A engine. These engines will be installed on Airbus A321neo aircraft that American ordered two years…
India’s aviation growth is pushing beyond fleet additions toward questions of endurance, utilisation, and long-term support. From engines powering high-frequency domestic routes to platforms enabling long-haul expansion, the emphasis is on reliability, operating economics, and lifecycle depth. Manufacturing and engineering…
Liebherr-Aerospace has inducted the first Airbus A350 nose landing gear into overhaul at its Lindenberg facility in Germany, marking a transition point in the programme from production to lifecycle support as the global A350 fleet matures. The company, which developed…
Lufthansa Technik Canada (LTCA) has completed its first live LEAP-1B engine event at its interim facility in Calgary, marking the site’s transition into active operations and confirming its readiness to support engine maintenance activity in North America. The development adds…
Korean Air has implemented Ramco Systems’ Aviation Suite at its Engine Maintenance Centre, bringing engine maintenance, finance, customer support and billing functions onto a single integrated platform as part of its broader maintenance strategy. The Aviation Suite is an enterprise…
Daher has added two new logistics contracts from Safran, expanding a long-standing industrial relationship into production logistics and aftermarket support. The agreements cover nacelle integration logistics in Hamburg and the establishment of a dedicated MRO and AOG platform in the…
ASPIRE (Advanced Structural Product Integrated Airframe), will deliver and test three composite wingtip variants and a novel composite flap integrating automation, sustainability and manufacturability.
Consortium includes GKN Aerospace, Carbon ThreeSixty, iCOMAT, Lineat, Pentaxia and the University of Bath, with programme support by Axillium and co-funding from the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI).
Wing technology GTC
GKN Aerospace has launched ASPIRE, a new £12 million, UK R&D programme to develop and demonstrate next-generation composite wing and flap structures. The three-year programme has officially started in May 2025 and will run until April 2028.
The project will deliver three full-scale composite wingtip variants for structural testing to Ultimate Load, providing a unique opportunity to validate new technologies in highly relevant test conditions. Each wingtip variant will represent a different structural philosophy and technology set. Variant one is a bonded assembly with multiple parts, aligned with GKN Aerospace’s design approach. Variant two is a quasi-isotropic co-infused Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) structure featuring automated deposition, forming, digital twin integration and Pentaxia’s self-heated tooling (JouleTool), representing the current state-of-the-art. Variant three, introduces non-standard fibre angles, low-energy dry fibre forming and SmaRTM processing.
Key innovations under evaluation include iCOMAT’s Rapid Tow Sheared (RTS) lightweight structure and Carbon ThreeSixty’s stitched deltoid noodles, made from recycled carbon fibres aligned through the Lineat AFFT process. These developments are supported by analytical and numerical methods developed by the University of Bath.
Alongside the wingtip demonstrators, ASPIRE will also develop an optimised composite flap. The flap demonstration will feature a pre-preg manufacturing approach with RTS skins (iCOMAT), tailored fibre placed brackets (Carbon Three Sixty), low-energy out-of-autoclave curing moulds and press-cured ribs. A key programme milestone will be achieving TRL6 for the press-curing of composite ribs. This builds on GKN Aerospace’s experience producing the A350 flap in Munich and will support future improvements for the next-generation single aisle aircraft.
John Pritchard, President Civil Airframe, GKN Aerospace said: “ASPIRE is a perfect example of the power of UK collaboration to drive aerospace innovation. By bringing together specialist SMEs, academic expertise, and GKN Aerospace’s industrial leadership, this programme will accelerate the development of high-rate, sustainable composite wing technologies. It strengthens our position as a trusted technology partner for future aircraft platforms and reinforces our commitment to shaping a more efficient and more sustainable aerospace industry”
