Following our recent announcement that Cranfield Aerospace has been selected by Air New Zealand as the sole hydrogen-powered aircraft as part of the airlines’ Mission Next Gen Aircraft programme, CAeS CEO Paul Hutton reflects on the opportunity presented by hydrogen-powered aircraft in delivering a green revolution to the way we fly and the UK’s place in the global revolution. Changing the way we fly and travel The introduction of zero-emission aircraft will enable us to re-think our approach to regional connectivity and the way we currently fly.  As we outlined with many others in our re ..read more

Innovative UK SME Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), has been announced as the sole hydrogen-powered aircraft partner of Air New Zealand’s Mission Next Gen Aircraft, the flag carrier’s ambitious zero-emissions aircraft programme. As the only British company selected out of 30 candidates, CAeS will work alongside three other companies worldwide with Air New Zealand on its mission to have its first zero emissions demonstrator flight take to the skies from 2026. Over the next 12 months, Air New Zealand will commit to one or more of these partners, with the ambition of purchasing an aircraft fo ..read more

Over the course of November, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) has announced a swathe of exciting news around its development of the world’s first fully certified, zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel-powered passenger aircraft. 3rd November: MONTE Aircraft Leasing signed a Letter of Intent with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions MONTE signed an LOI with CAeS to purchase 40 modification kits to convert Britten-Norman Islanders to hydrogen-electric power. The agreement will bring financing and leasing solutions to sub-regional operators to enable them to adopt zero-emissions aircraft operations. Full s ..read more

EVIA AERO continues to back Cranfield Aerospace Solutions with orders for 15 hydrogen modification kits and ten 19-seat aircraft. Bremen-based start-up EVIA AERO add five more hydrogen fuel-cell based conversion kits for the 9-seat Britten Norman Islander aircraft to its existing Letter of Intent (LOI) with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS). This takes the total to 15 modification kits plus supplementary type certificates (STCs) to be supplied by CAeS to EVIA AERO. In addition to this, EVIA AERO has signed a separate LOI for the supply of ten, 19-seat passenger aircraft to be powered by a s ..read more

Tomorrow’s Engineers Week shines a spotlight on engineering, engineering careers and engineering professionals. At Cranfield Aerospace Solutions we’ve been highlighting engineers from different disciplines to show how interesting aerospace engineering can be. Look at our previous stories: Christine Holmes – Principal Mechanical Design Engineer and Alison Eve – Senior Airworthiness and Certification Engineer. Today we’re highlighting Thomas Pratt, our Senior Air Vehicle Design Engineer who has been with us since the summer. Background Having always been fascinated by airplanes and flight, it’s ..read more

Dronamics, the leading middle-mile cargo drone developer and operator, and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), a leading innovator in the development of zero emissions solutions for aerospace, announced that they will be combining their expertise to integrate hydrogen fuel-cell technology into the Black Swan, the long-range cargo drone developed by Dronamics. Brought together by their mutual belief that hydrogen fuel-cell technology can open up the possibility of zero-emissions aviation, the two aerospace innovators will be working together to bring to market a viable, sustainable solution f ..read more

This week we are promoting different areas of engineering at Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) by shining a light on numerous engineers for Tomorrow’s Engineering Week. With over 20 years of experience with CAeS, today we are highlighting Alison Eve, our Senior Airworthiness and Certification Engineer. Background Engineering found Alison when she completed her O Levels and didn’t want to pursue A-Levels. Instead, she took up a Higher National Certificate and a four-year craft apprenticeship. Before joining the team at CAeS, she worked as an electronics engineer, working on the early set top ..read more

Principal Mechanical Design Engineer – Christine Holmes Today marks the beginning of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week! The campaign highlights to young people that engineering is a creative, problem solving, exciting career that improves the world around us. Throughout the week we’ll be shining the spotlight on some of our fantastic engineers, highlighting the various engineering disciplines for Tomorrow’s Engineers. Christine Holmes began her career at Cranfield Aerospace Solutions 10 years ago as a Junior Mechanical Design Engineer. Background With a background in motorsport, cemented during her ch ..read more

UK can be a global leader in the hydrogen economy but a national hydrogen strategy will be fundamental to meeting future supply, distribution and cost challenges for aviation Within the next 20 years, passengers could be flying between all regions of the UK on planes which emit no carbon emissions. As COP 27 begins, a UK aviation consortium consisting of three airports (Heathrow, London City, HIAL), three manufacturers (GKN Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, Cranfield Aerospace), three academic institutions (UCL, Cranfield and Southampton) supported by Deloitte and three airlines (easyJet, British Airw ..read more

Today marks National Engineering Day – a day which focuses on how engineering improves lives. As the aerospace industry races to develop solutions to address the urgent requirement to respond to climate change, how do we ensure we are able to secure the engineers of tomorrow that will drive and deliver the changes required? This was the central question put to Valentina Futoryanova, Head of Engineering at CAeS. In this piece, Valentina responds and offers her thoughts and perspectives on what is needed to attract the engineering talent that will meet the challenge. The importance of attracting ..read more