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NEWSLETTER 2019

Delivering Confidence to Fly

There have been a good number of positive developments at ARA since the last newsletter, some of which feature in more detail on subsequent pages. In our 67th year ARA continues to deliver “Confidence to Fly” to well established and newer customers from around the world. The ARA offering of integrated aerodynamic expertise across model manufacture, a range of testing techniques and state of the art Computational Fluid Dynamics has enabled us to remain at the forefront of our industry. During the past year we have worked with a significant number of internationally renowned aerospace & defence manufacturers and partners, and our collaboration with Turkish Aerospace Industries is featured. In the future, ARA also expects to be integral in the development of the UK’s new Tempest programme, announced by the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Defence last summer. As ARA broadens its offering and grows the business the management team has also evolved providing continuity, experience and opportunities for professional development within ARA. The team is shown opposite. ARA’s order book for 2019 and into 2020 is very strong and we have invested (and will continue to invest) in people, equipment and techniques. During 2018 ARA invested in three new Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines to greatly expand our manufacturing capacity. ARA staff also remain heavily involved with research projects, and details of work with the European Union’s Clean Sky 2 programme feature in this newsletter, along with summaries of two of ARA’s recent publications at international conferences.

I am proud of the heritage of ARA and excited by the future, and with a strong team at ARA I am sure that the coming

years will be positive for our customers, staff and for aerospace.

Paul Hutchings, Chief Executive Officer

Mayoral Visit

On 15th February 2019, ARA was pleased to receive a visit from the Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson MBE. ARA is one of the largest employers in Bedford centre with a worldwide customer base. The Mayor was very keen to learn about both ARA’s capabilities and also how customer business brings secondary benefit to the community through hotels and restaurants etc.

Left: Design & Manufacturing team members Aneil Taylor & Michael O'Carroll explain ARA’s capabilities to machine and finish high specification scale models and components for

wind tunnel testing.

Above: Left to Right: Timothy Figg – Business Development Executive Patrick Lyons – Inward Investment Manager, Bedford Council Dave Hodgson MBE – Elected Mayor & Leader of the Council

Paul Hutchings – Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to the ARA Newsletter

The ARA Management Team

Chief

Executive Officer

Paul Hutchings

Chief Operating Officer

Caroline Betts

Business Development

Executive

Timothy Figg

Financial Controller/IT

Peter Puk

Chief Engineer

Alon Hankin

Head of Project Management & Interim

Head of Design & Manufacture

Christopher Burke

Head of Aerodynamics

Dr. Wayne Pearce

Head of Technical

Business Development

Dr. Sanjay Patel

Human Resources & Security Manager

Carol Newberry

Military aircraft designs in recent years have seen an increase in the size of engine fan face diameters. The challenge for providers of propulsion intake testing, using legacy Mass Flow Systems with constrained size, often results in a decrease in the scale of wind tunnel models. This in turn introduces challenges in the control of auxiliary flow and the appropriate scaling of bleed and bypass systems for models near or equal to the 15 %

minimum scale necessary for testing.

As a solution provider, ARA were approached to manufacture a pair of Mass Flow Systems that would be large enough to maintain model scales larger than 15% to offset this constraint. An ARA design of ejector and mass flow plug was down-selected for further development. During the design process, ARA performed CFD analysis to determine the desired airflow through the mass flow plug

over the range of choked conditions. Due to the larger scale

now possible, a hydraulic cylinder with increased performance was selected. The mass flow plug featured dual position feedback for redundancy. A custom control system was developed in house to precisely control the movement and positioning of the mass flow plug to achieve the required control of mass flow. ARA also manufactured an aerodynamic interface plane (AIP) for each Mass Flow System. Each comprised sixteen removable rakes containing five probes. This allowed for two scenarios - a forty probe - five-ring configuration sufficient for measuring performance and pressure distribution; and an eighty probe – five-ring configuration used to increase resolution reducing the need to reposition the orientation of the API during wind tunnel testing. To achieve the desired total pressure accuracy within the high flow angularity environment the design incorporated co-annular type probes for measuring both steady and unsteady pressures. Prior to delivery, each Mass Flow System underwent rated load test and calibration to confirm the integrity and positional characteristics of the mass flow plug. A subsequent calibration verified the mass flow performance across the range of the plug’s travel. This successful project underlines ARA’s proven capability to design and deliver Mass Flow Systems for the next generation of military aircraft engine intake

testing.

Present at the signing ceremony were (left to right)

Professor Oguz Borat – TAI Chairman of the Board,

Paul Hutchings – ARA Chief Executive Officer,

Timothy Figg – ARA Business Development Executive

Temel Kotil – TAI President and CEO.

In 2018, ARA signed a landmark contract with Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI) for their next generation stealth fighter programme TF-X. The contract covers design validation services incorporating the design and manufacture of an instrumented model and Transonic Wind Tunnel (TWT) testing. Mr Paul Hutchings, Chief Executive Officer stated “This contract further underlines ARA’s core capabilities in aerodynamic research and demonstrates our flexible, innovative approach to support leading aerospace manufactures such as TAI”. TAI is Turkey's national centre of technology in design, development, modernization, manufacturing, integration and life cycle support of integrated aerospace systems, from fixed and rotary wing air platforms to UAVs and satellites and ranks among the top hundred global players in aerospace

and defence arena.

ARA Supports Next Generation Military Engine Intake Testing

TAI Sign Contract with ARA

Facility Update: Model Design & Manufacture

ARA is an independent UK facility approved to manage Government classified information and services. ARA provides similar services equivalent to Facility Security Clearance (FCS) to our overseas customers. Continuous investment in facilities and equipment has ensured ARA maintains its competitiveness. In particular, in 2018 our model Design & Manufacturing centre received several new CNC machines increasing our capacity. ARA provides models for both customer and ARA tunnel tests requirements. ARA is a ‘one-stop shop’ for instrumented model design and manufacture, as well as a range of complementary aerodynamic

testing services.

Equipment Description Type Table size (mm)

Huron KX-50 CNC VMC 5-axis 2200 x 1000

Hermle C400u CNC VMC 5-axis 650 x 500

Hermle C250u CNC VMC 5-axis 450 x 355

DMU 125P CNC VMC 3+2 axis 1250 x 1000

DMU 100T CNC VMC 4-axis 1000 x 780

Bridgeport XR1000 CNC VMC 3-axis 1180 x 580

Doosan DNM5700H CNC VMC 3-axis 1050 x 570

Doosan DNM500 CNC VMC 3-axis 1020 x 540

Doosan DNM500 CNC VMC 3-axis 1020 x 540

Doosan P3100XLY CNC Lathe 2000 x 525

Doosan P3100XLY CNC Lathe 2000 x 525

Agie-Charmilles Cut 300 SP EDM Wire 540 x 340 x 400

Agie-Charmilles Cut 300 SP EDM Wire 540 x 340 x 400

Roboform 810 EDM Plunge 800 x 600 x 500

Hexagon Metrology CMM CMM 2000 x 1200

Leica ‘Absolute Tracker’ Scanner (portable) Range 10m

Calibrated to ±0.05mm

Clean Sky 2 Projects

ARA Supports Rolls-Royce Ultra-High Bypass

Ratio Engine Technology in AvAUNT

ARA was selected in 2017 to lead a 3-year collaboration programme under CS2 to evaluate new adaptive area nozzle technology for the next generation civil power plants using ultra high bypass ratio engines.

Adaptive Area nozzle for Ultra-high bypass Nacelle Technology (AvAUNT) is a project in the Large

Passenger Aircraft (LPA) domain of Clean Sky with Rolls Royce as Topic Manager. The aim of the project is to experimentally and computationally evaluate the performance and installation effects of Ultra-High Bypass Ratio (UHBR) engines with Adaptive Area Nozzles (AAN). The move towards higher bypass ratios can lead to significant reductions in emissions and noise; up to 10% propulsive efficiency enhancement and 2dB noise reductions from UHBR ~15 and above have been reported. However, by lowering fan pressure ratios, fan surge problems can emerge with increasingly larger variations in flight performance between sea level and cruise. To overcome this, the AAN can provide the necessary increases in surge margin at low mass flow conditions at sea level, but at the expense of additional system weight and complexity.

While many of the potential benefits of the UHBR configuration have been substantiated for isolated nacelle configurations, there is limited understanding of the installation interference effects that will be induced at these very high/ultra-high ratios, or how the incorporation of the AAN may affect the nature of these interference losses. In this current project, early stage candidate concepts for a nacelle with AAN technology are being studied through complementary experimental and computational simulation to ascertain the interference effects induced and to propose a verified modelling methodology which can be used in advance design studies. This will be used to inform best practice in the design of installed UHBR nacelles with AAN technology to support a move towards an integrated technology demonstrator within the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking for late 2023. The project is led by ARA and the consortium partners are Queens University Belfast and Collins Aerospace. The project is scheduled to last 36 months, finishing in April 2020. AvAUNT also provides ARA with a new two-stream jet propulsion rig for ARA’s Transonic Wind Tunnel: an exceptional capability for evaluating nozzle/after body performance in isolated and installed configurations and that accommodates the next generation of civil aircraft power plants.

single design point evaluations. These designs will be optimised using the latest numerical methods prior to down-select for isolated, high speed wind tunnel test enabling validation of the design tools applied. As part of this testing, experimental data quality will be improved by the enhancement of existing, and the development and application of novel, measurement techniques. The feasibility of simulating the installed wing pressure field during wind tunnel test will be assessed. The success of the optimised, down-selected geometries will also be investigated by simulation in an installed situation enabling both the overall performance improvements of the integrated wing and nacelle and the individual

contributions to be understood.

ANACO will facilitate the multi-objective optimisation of short and slim engine nacelle design for the next generation of ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) aero engines. UHBR engine architectures offer increased propulsive efficiency through operation at reduced specific thrust, enabled by increased engine diameter. This poses special challenges, both in terms of the aerodynamic drag of the isolated nacelle and the potential for interference effects which may be imposed by a close-coupled installation on the aircraft wing.

ANACO will initially generate a population of short and slim nacelle designs which seek to minimise

overall mission drag, rather than

Finally, ANACO will deliver design rules and guidelines for future application in the design of novel, short and slim nacelles. This 3-year multimillion € project will be carried out by a consortium comprising ARA as co-ordinator and Cranfield University (CU) as partner. The topic manager is Rolls-Royce. CU will lead the numerical simulation and optimisation tasks whereas ARA will lead the experimental technique development and wind tunnel model design, manufacture and test. ANACO will provide ARA with the opportunity to enhance specifically its high speed propulsion test capability but also to develop novel experimental techniques expected to find wider application to other types of model test across its customer base.

ReLOAD

REgional turboprop LOADs (ReLOAD) control through active and passive technologies is a project in the Regional Aircraft

domain of Clean Sky with Airbus Defence & Space as Topic Manager. The theme of the project is to investigate load control

technologies for a future regional turboprop aircraft, with focus on one of the flight demonstrators in the Regional Aircraft

domain - specifically, the Flying Test Bed #2 aircraft (FTB#2). ARA is already involved in one other project focussed on

the FTB#2: POLITE (as partner), which focusses on the design and manufacture of a wind-tunnel model for ground testing

aligned to RELOAD and a follow on project, PERTURB (as lead), which addresses the power effects of the FTB#2, is about

to commence.

RELOAD, which is led by ARA with Technical University Delft (TUD) as a partner, contains both CFD and wind-tunnel testing

elements and is divided into active and passive control technology studies. ARA’s principle focus is on the former, with

TUD on the latter. For the active control work, CFD studies at both wind-tunnel and flight scale, investigate the

aerodynamic characterisation of both an aileron and spoiler for the aircraft with a wind-tunnel test undertaken at the

RUAG facility, using the POLITE model. The CFD and wind-tunnel datasets are combined using data fusion techniques in

order to extrapolate the aerodynamics to full scale, as required by the Topic Manager, in preparation for the flight test.

The TUD work focusses on a novel spoiler and an aeroelastically tailored winglet and their potential benefits in gust load

alleviation. RELOAD builds on ARA’s strengths in CFD modelling and broadens the compass of the company’s flight physics

expertise into the handling quality and loads areas. The project also emphasises ARA’s current approach to aerodynamics,

using CFD and wind-tunnel test in a highly integrated manner to solve challenging problems. Key amongst the project

outputs are techniques for data extrapolation to full scale Reynolds number based on CFD/wind-tunnel synergy.

Advance NACelle aerodynamic Optimisation (ANACO)

Clean Sky 2 Projects

ANTIFOD

ANTI Foreign Object Debris (ANTIFOD) is a project

to develop a Foreign Object Debris (FOD) protection device applied to an electrical Environmental Control System fresh air inlet. The project is being led by the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya with partners ARA, Manchester University, Termofluids and Particle Technology. The requirement for a ready supply of fresh air for passenger airliners is conventionally met by bleeding high pressure, high temperature air from the main aircraft engines. The electrical Environment Control System (eECS) aims to remove the need for bleed air by drawing fresh air directly from the ambient atmosphere via an intake mounted to the fuselage. This allows for lower maintenance costs and lower overall fuel burn, and a better environment for passengers. The other partners in the ANTIFOD consortium will design

the device and perform CFD evaluations to optimise its efficiency whilst ARA will design and manufacture the test rig and perform proving trials in the ARA propulsion test house and transonic wind tunnel facilities. ARA work will begin with the test definition phase in September 2019, followed by design and manufacture of test rig components. Static tests and wind tunnel tests will be performed between May and September 2020. The overall project has a duration of 24 months. ARA has many years of experience in design, manufacture and wind tunnel testing of specialised test rigs particularly involving intakes. ARA has also developed advanced test techniques including Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) that has been industrialised for a number of years, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and hot wire measurements. The project will enable ARA to extend these techniques to flow inside a duct.

POLITE - ARA Supports Cleansky2 Load Control Device Programme

The POwered, modular wind-tunnel model for Low and hIgh Reynolds TEsts (POLITE) project is in

the regional aircraft domain of Clean Sky 2 with Airbus Defence and Space as the topic manager. The project will design and build a large 3m span powered wind tunnel model of the Airbus Defence & Space C-295 aircraft for delivering aerodynamic data to support flight tests investigating innovative load control & high-lift devices. The model has propellers powered by either hydraulic or air motors. The wing has electrically actuated control surfaces allowing flap angle changes to be performed without stopping the wind tunnel to increase productivity. The POLITE project will test the model in the RUAG LWTE with hydraulic motors. The POLITE project will deliver the model to the PERTURB project for testing in the ONERA F1 pressurised wind tunnel with air-motors powering the propellers.

The POLITE project is led by IBK innovation with ARA, RUAG and DREAM as project partners. ARA is responsible for the mechanical design of the outer wing panels and the manufacture of the majority of the wind tunnel model. The multimillion € POLITE project is scheduled to complete at the end of 2019. The POLITE project builds on ARA’s historical strength in design and manufacture of powered wind tunnel models. POLITE extends ARA’s design knowledge of more complex powered control surfaces at wind tunnel model scale and the integration of hydraulic power plants.

Clean Sky 2 Projects

ARCADE Aerodynamic Research Testing Capability and Data Enhancement The ARCADE project concerned the maintenance and development of high quality and innovative wind tunnel testing at transonic speeds and at industrial scale at Aircraft Research Association (ARA). During its 65-year history, ARA has a long track record of efficiently delivering high quality aerodynamic data, particularly from its main experimental facility, the 2.7m x 2.4m Transonic Wind Tunnel, TWT. The ARCADE programme has further developed a number of new capabilities that are at the cutting edge of wind tunnel testing. Featured overleaf, work packages in ARCADE included the transonic gust simulation facility, Hybrid Laminar Flow Control research and a flat yaw rig (left) for sting mounted models, all with concomitant developments in instrumentation and measurement techniques. The ARCADE also included infrastructure enhancements and was of 21 months duration. The use of optical based measurement systems, such as ARA’s pressure sensitive paint (fully industrialised) and model deformation measurement, require unobstructed views of the model in the tunnel. For rear sting mount systems, as mostly used in transonic wind tunnels, the usual way of achieving angle of attack is to simply pitch the model on its support, but if yaw is also required then a combination of pitch and roll is used. For optical systems, this usually means that the cameras need to be repositioned within the tunnel to get adequate viewing angles for each test point, which is an inefficient process. Within this work package ARA has demonstrated a support system that is currently commissioned to obtain yaw angles up to 8 degrees without having to roll the model. This significantly increases the productivity of the advanced optical measurement systems that ARA has been developing and means that customers will benefit from more data recorded in any given tunnel running time.

Clean Sky 2 Projects

ARA Gust Rig Optimises Wing Design

Angel Gomariz-Sancha, Principal Aerodynamics

Engineer at ARA, presented the paper “Towards the

industrialisation of a transonic gust rig for

simulation of gusts on half-models” at the 2018 AIAA

SciTech Forum. The paper describes recent

developments of the gust simulation facility for the

ARA Transonic Wind Tunnel along with verification

and demonstration experiments.

The facility was first reported in the open literature

in 2015, when a test to prove the concept of gust

production at transonic speeds through directed

trailing-edge blowing was detailed. The electro-

mechanical improvements to the gust rig carried out

since then were presented in the 2018 AIAA SciTech

Forum, including the enhancements to the blowing

control system to allow gusts of uniform amplitude

to be produced over a floor-mounted civil aircraft

half-model.

Also presented were experiments both to verify the

improved control system and to demonstrate the

impact of gusts on a half-model furnished with

advanced optical diagnostics such as Dynamic

Pressure Sensitive Paint and Dynamic Model

Deformation Measurement. Ref: Gomariz-Sancha, A, Peace, A J, Roberts, D A,

Davidson, T S, “Towards the industrialisation of a

transonic gust rig for simulation of gusts on half-

models”, AIAA-2018-0626, 2018.

Hybrid-Laminar Flow Control Technology

(HLFC) Developments There is a strong requirement to improve aircraft

aerodynamic performance to reduce engine fuel burn and

emissions in order to minimise the environment impart and

climate change. HLFC is a key method of drag reduction by

delaying transition using surface suction to stabilise the

boundary layer. ARA is at the forefront of this research, in

particular the single suction chamber concept with variable

surface porosity to reduce complexity and weight.

The wind tunnel tests demonstrated the capability of the

ARA HLFC model to delay transition by applying

suction. The model was designed with a pressure

distribution and flow condition representative of current

civil transport and is modular to permit experiments using

different flow control techniques. The testing was

enhanced with new IR cameras, hot films and model

deformation measurements and included measurement of

the suction properties across the porous surface. The

transition behaviour with various surface suctions and flow

conditions on this model has provided valuable information

for method validation and will be presented in the June

2019 AIAA Aviation Forum.

Ref: Ciarella, A, Lawson, S, Wong, P, Mughal, S,

“Aerodynamic and transition analysis of the hybrid laminar

flow control wing experiment at the ARA wind tunnel”, to

appear at AIAA AVIATION 2019.

ARA Conference Presentations

ARA is pleased to announce the award of three new CS2 projects. The contracts underline ARA’s strength in propeller & power plant aerodynamics, optical test techniques and

laminar flow research.

Power Effects aerodynamics for a Regional TURBoprop (PERTURB)

is a project in the Regional Aircraft domain of Clean Sky with Airbus Defence & Space as Topic Manager. The theme of the project is to characterise the Reynolds number (scale) effects of a propeller, both direct (1P forces and moments) and indirect (slipstream), on a turboprop aircraft – specifically, the Flying Test Bed #2 aircraft (FTB#2), which is one of the flight demonstrators in the Regional Aircraft domain. PERTURB, which is led by ARA with University of Bristol (UB) as a partner, contains both CFD and wind tunnel testing elements. The CFD work is being handled jointly by ARA and UB, with different levels of modelling fidelity being used to model the propeller aerodynamics and its interactions with the airframe. A wind tunnel test in a pressurised facility (using the POLITE model) will be managed by ARA. The CFD and wind tunnel datasets will be combined using data fusion techniques in order to extrapolate the aerodynamics to full scale, as required by the Topic Manager in preparation for the flight test. The project is scheduled to last 21 months. PERTURB builds on ARA’s historical strength in propeller aerodynamics, which encompasses blade design and powerplant installation effects. It will push the company’s toolkit into new areas, thus broadening the scope of what can be offered to customers in the future. The project also emphasises ARA’s current approach to aerodynamics, using CFD and wind-tunnel test in a highly

integrated manner to solve challenging problems.

ARA Awarded Three New Clean Sky 2 Projects

COMPACT

COMbined Passive and Active Flow Control Technology Wing (COMPACT) is a project in the Large

Passenger Aircraft ITD of Clean Sky with ONERA as Topic Manager. The aim of the project is to design and manufacture a large wing half-model, approximately 5m span, equipped with active and passive HLFC (Hybrid Laminar Flow Control) technologies, which is to be tested in the ONERA S1MA facility. COMPACT is led by ARA, collaborating with IBK Innovation, who will perform the majority of the model design, and Méca-Ouest, who will manufacture part of the model and carry out some of the static ground testing. ARA is responsible for the design and manufacture of the active and passive suction systems, including the bench testing to ensure acceptable performance of the devices, and performing the measurement of the model deformation under load using a development of the ARA optical MDM system. The project is scheduled to last 24 months. ARA has over 30 years’ experience in laminar flow research. This has encompassed both theoretical work and the design, manufacture and wind-tunnel testing of laminar flow research models. COMPACT builds on this experience and extends the design knowledge to more complex systems for large transonic wind-tunnel models. The project will enable ARA to develop further its expertise in FEA for complex systems and in optical measurement methods.

TRUflow is led by ARA, the consortium partners are RUAG and University of Manchester. The Topic Manager is Rolls Royce. The project and is scheduled to last 36 months. TRUflow builds on ARA’s historical strength in powerplant aerodynamics, optical testing techniques and CFD. It will push the company’s measurement techniques and CFD capabilities into new areas, thus broadening the scope of what can be offered to customers in the future. The project also emphasises ARA’s current approach to aerodynamics, using CFD and wind-tunnel test together to generate an innovative boundary condition for future thrust

reverser modelling.

TRUflow

Thrust Reverser Unit flow visualisation (TRUflow) is a project in the Large Passenger Aircraft (LPA) Innovative

Aircraft Platform Development (IAPD). The theme of this project is the “Development of Measurement Techniques for Visualisation and Evaluation of Reverse Flow Interaction with Fan”. UHBR engine architectures offer increased propulsive efficiency through operation at reduced specific thrust, enabled by increased engine diameter. This poses challenges, both in terms of the aerodynamics of the isolated nacelle, and the potential for interference effects between the different engine components such as the Thrust Reverser Unit (TRU). TRUflow will develop novel measurement techniques for the visualization and evaluation of reverse flow interactions with fan aerodynamics in short and slim engine nacelle designs. These novel techniques will be applicable to the next generation of ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) aero engines with thrust reverser. The project will initially investigate several visualization techniques using a static demonstrator as a workbench for these measurement techniques. Following this investigation, a wind tunnel test will be carried out at RUAG aiming to prove the efficacy of these techniques. In parallel, TRUflow will develop and verify a numerical methodology for the evaluation of TRU cascades. The numerical and experimental data will be fused together to generate an innovative surrogate model of the TRU suitable for design.

123….

Infrastructure Update:

In addition to ARA’s routine planned preventative maintenance programme, this year there are a number of special projects to support the Transonic Wind Tunnel infrastructure systems and equipment. Some of the work will be carried out by our own team of specialist mechanical fitters and electricians and some will use carefully selected subcontractors. The longer duration activities are planned to coincide with the site equipment power outage period during our annual summer maintenance shutdown. Examples of projects include replacement of a staircase and structural bracing on the cooling tower, the periodic maintenance of the main compressor and evacuator and we are upgrading office and meeting room facilities. One highlight in the coming months is the planned exchange of our main Wind Tunnel fan blades that will be removed and refurbished as featured opposite. In recognition of customer demand for our high-pressure air capability in both the Transonic Wind Tunnel and Propeller Test House, significant investment is being made in the high-pressure air system. This is to improve reliability and safety of the 3 high-pressure air compressors and also the 250-bar air system pipework. We are providing our Propeller Test House with 250-bar and 10-bar air pipework and making improvements to the control room equipment to enable specialist rig trials to be conducted in the test cell in advance of test campaigns in the Transonic Wind Tunnel. To meet future customer requirements, we are purchasing some new digital pressure scanners and associated hardware – two 32-port 150psi scanners and two 64-port -12 to +25psi scanners – which will significantly improve our pressure-measuring capability. ARA adopts an integrated planning approach balancing the strong schedule demand for the Transonic Wind Tunnel with conducting engineering improvement projects. We hope our customers will be pleased with the benefits from this year’s investment programme and look forward to providing a

progress update in a future newsletter.

ARA’s main Transonic Wind Tunnel blades are now in a four-year rolling replacement programme. The blades are constructed from Honduras mahogany that has properties of longevity, stable performance and thermal expansion. However, the wood is naturally very soft so each blade is protected with a coating. This particular wood is now listed in the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna so ARA has developed a refurbishment process to maintain our stock of spare blades to support any necessary

refurbishment well into the future.

The ARA Apprenticeship Programme 2019

We are delighted to announce the launch of our 2019 Apprenticeship Programme.

Commencing in September 2019 we are looking to recruit four Apprentices in some of the key areas in

the business: Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Craft and Design Engineering. The apprentices will be

based at our site in Manton Lane, Bedford with their initial training undertaken at a local college on a

full time basis for the first 3 months and then by day release. At the end of the program they will have

achieved an NVQ Level 3 as well as gaining considerable practical and theoretical knowledge.

The 2019 Apprenticeship vacancies are currently live on our website and we aim to finalise the selection

process by July 2019.

At ARA we recognise that our business success is dependent on the skills, talents and expertise of our

people. We are always looking for talent and we offer the chance to work with ingenious people who

care about their colleagues and delighting customers.

If you feel you have the commitment, drive and passion for excellence then we would love to hear from

you. Please visit our website to find out our latest vacancies http://ara.co.uk/careers/vacancies/.

In return we will provide you with a stimulating and rewarding place to work. We are large enough to

provide opportunities in a number of challenging areas yet small enough for you to have involvement

across a range of projects and be flexible in your career, gaining broad experience – all together with a

competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.

Career Opportunities at ARA

Outstanding Achievement Awards

ARA was proud to announce that two of our employees received Outstanding Achievement Awards in Dec 2018 presented at Bedford College on completion of their Advanced Apprenticeships in Engineering -Technical Support and Mechanical Manufacturing respectively. It is a recognition of their hard work and achievements so far. Chloe and Matt’s awards underline the success of ARA’s long standing apprenticeship based training programme that develops key skills and yields talented individuals. Along with all our employees and new apprentices, we look forward to them developing their careers with ARA and contributing to our continued success.

IMPACTA - IMproving the Propulsion Aerodynamics and aCoustics of Turboprop Aircraft is a synergistic approach between numerical simulations using advanced CFD techniques and wind-tunnel testing. CFD is used to inform the model design and flow diagnostics while the wind tunnel data is used to validate the CFD.

Aircraft Research Association Limited Manton Lane Bedford MK41 7PF United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1234 324600

Email: business@ara.co.uk

www.ara.co.uk

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