Potez Aéronautique develops composite doors for Alice aircraft
Potez will supply a set of main passenger access doors, baggage doors and emergency doors, due for delivery in the first quarter of 2021, and ahead of the aircraft’s first flight.
Photo Credit: Eviation Aircraft
Eviation Aircraft (Qadima, Israel) has selected Potez Aéronautique (Aire-sur-l'Adour, France) to design and develop the carbon fiber doors of Alice, an all-electric regional aircraft launched by Eviation.
According to Potez, this is the first door design and build contract consisting of carbon fiber, and comes just as the company has acquired a production facility specializing in composite materials for aerostructures and aircraft cabin components, now operating as Potez Composites.
“We selected Potez Aéronautique from a very competitive pool of companies because of its excellent design, expertise, talented individuals and passion for taking on a challenge in the name of innovation,” says Omer Bar- Yohay, co-founder and CEO of Eviation. “These doors will be created with the best of lightweight carbon fiber materials, paving the way in how we build and design aircraft as we know it.” Ninety five percent of the aircraft is made using composite materials, including a carbon fiber composite fuselage, carbon fiber blades and composite wings from other previous partnerships.
The contract, which started in July, sets in motion the collaboration between Potez Aéronautique and Eviation to supply a set of main passenger access doors, baggage doors and emergency doors. These doors will be due for delivery in the first quarter of 2021, ahead of the aircraft’s first flight. This new program reportedly reinforces Potez's declared mission to become a world-class manufacturer of complex aerostructure assemblies and one of the world’s leading and established specialists in design and build work packages for aircraft doors.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity and challenge for Potez as we are tasked with developing and producing aircraft doors within a timescale never achieved before,” says Antoine Potez, Potez Aéronautique’s CEO. “As innovation is a part of our very DNA, it is an honor and pleasure for our organization to contribute to Eviation’s success and to be a part of developing the aircraft of tomorrow.”
Related Content
-
Carbon fiber in pressure vessels for hydrogen
The emerging H2 economy drives tank development for aircraft, ships and gas transport.
-
The making of carbon fiber
A look at the process by which precursor becomes carbon fiber through a careful (and mostly proprietary) manipulation of temperature and tension.
-
Cycling forward with bike frame materials and processes
Fine-tuning of conventional materials and processes characterizes today’s CFRP bicycle frame manufacturing, whether in the large factories of Asia or at reshored facilities in North America and Europe. Thermoplastic resins and automated processes are on the horizon, though likely years away from high-volume production levels.
