Airbus has partnered with KLK Motorsport and Modell & Formenbau Blasius Gerg GmbH to design, develop and manufacture the rear structure of the CityAirbus NextGen aircraft.
On Wednesday (June 22, 2022), Airbus announced that they have selected partners to design, develop and manufacture the rear structure of the CityAirbus NextGen. The two partners include KLK Motorsport and Modell & Formenbau Blasius Gerg GmbH, who will collaborate to develop an ultra-lightweight rear fuselage, which plays a key role in the airframe’s flight efficiency, meeting the high standards of reliability and performance for the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype. Leveraging their combined engineering and manufacturing competencies, the partners will design high-end composite solutions and components for the CityAirbus NextGen’s rear structure.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Airbus’ Head of Urban Mobility, Joerg Mueller, said,
“The partnership with KLK Motorsport and Gerg GmbH will provide CityAirbus NextGen with a fully integrated, ultra-lightweight rear fuselage. Directly interacting with the center fuselage and the wing, the rear structure will leverage both suppliers’ expertise in homogeneous design for Formula E and Formula One vehicles, while complying with the most stringent safety and reliability standards.”
KLK Motorsport and Gerg GmbH have been working on end-to-end composite design and manufacturing solutions for several years. The development of the rear structure of CityAirbus NextGen will be a continuation of work previously undertaken by the suppliers on Airbus’ high-speed demonstrator Racer, where KLK Motorsport and Gerg provided an innovative carbon fiber canopy, which was optimized for low aerodynamic draft and high visibility.
The CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL prototype was unveiled in September 2021, to explore advanced air mobility technologies for future air mobility services. Over the last few months, Airbus has selected structural component partners for the prototype such as Thales and Diehl, who will develop the flight computers and Spirit AeroSystems for the wings. The company is also working with industrial and institutional partners for the development of urban air mobility (UAM) ecosystems, as recently announced with ITA Airways in Italy, or through the launch of the Air Mobility Initiative in Germany.
Source: Airbus