AERO Friedrichshafen 2015 generates new impulses
With an expanded concept and more than 630 exhibitors, the AERO 2015 is set to maintain its position as the largest trade show for general aviation in Europe. Not only will the e-flight-expo, Avionics Avenue, Engine Area and RPAS Expo be returning to the show, which takes place April 15 to 18, 2015, but for the first time an Aviation and Pilots Competence Center (APCC) for current and prospective pilots will also be offered. But most of all, it is the aircraft that will take center stage at the AERO: The range on display in Friedrichshafen will stretch from gliders, ultralights and touring aircraft, helicopters, gyrocopters and UAS (unmanned aerial systems) all the way up to multi-engine business jets.
Messe Friedrichshafen CEO Klaus Wellman and project leader Roland Bosch are pleased that, as of the beginning of December, exhibition space at the AERO 2015 is almost completely sold out. “We are seeing outstanding exhibitor demand for the upcoming AERO. Expectations among companies in the general aviation field are high. Furthermore, several premieres at the AERO 2015 are also generating a lot of optimism,” announced Roland Bosch in advance of the show. General aviation includes all civil aviation, with the exception of regularly scheduled and chartered airline service. According to EU statistics, in the European Union alone there are more than 200,000 registered pilots of ultralights, gliders and powered aircraft.
That’s why “Everything that flies” will once again be the motto for the AERO 2015. The range of aircraft at the AERO stretches from sailplanes, ultralights, single- and multi-engine piston-driven aircraft, helicopters, gyrocopters and turboprops all the way up to multi-engine jets. New motors, the latest avionics, UAS, services and aviation accessories will be additional focal points at the AERO 2015.
Four successful special areas will return to the upcoming AERO. The first special show is Avionics Avenue, where the focus is on all types of on-board equipment for aircraft and helicopters pertaining to control, navigation, collision avoidance and flight planning. In the next three years, the end of the transition period to transfer to 8.33 kHz channel spacing in airplanes and helicopters approved for VFR operations will also generate strong demand for producers. The new rules for the airspace structure associated with the introduction of Standardized European Rules of the Air at in early December 2014 will also create additional momentum for manufacturers of GPS systems. Visitors will not only be able to get information about many of these new systems, but will have the chance to try them out in the headset test area.
Also returning for the fourth time will be the Engine Area, where the latest, most modern motors from various manufacturers will be on display, including electric, internal combustion and hybrid engines. Due to the constantly rising cost of aviation fuel and the development of new efficient diesel motors for propeller-driven aircraft, new innovations are also expected in this field. In light of the uncertain future of the aviation fuel avgas, innovative engines for propeller aircraft that can also be operated with lead-free aviation fuel will also be on show at the AERO 2015.
The e-flight-expo, featuring alternative drive concepts, will also take place as a permanent element of the AERO for the seventh time. Under the motto "Electrical, Ecological, Evolutionary“, it will present the current state of electric-based sustainable and future-oriented technologies.
The RPAS Expo will illustrate how far the development of civilian drones has come. Unmanned aircraft from several different manufacturers, equipped with the most modern sensor and measurement technology, will be on display. For the second time, there will also be an indoor UAS flying display, for the first time, an outdoor flying display at the Trade Fair Lake near the West Entrance.
Another new feature for 2015 will be the Aviation and Pilots Competence Center (APCC). It will serve as a resource center for pilots and anyone interested in training to become one. There will be information and offers from flight schools, public authorities and interest groups, such as the Luftfahrt Bundesamt, Germany’s Federal Aviation Office; EASA; AOPA; the German National Meteorological Service Deutscher Wetterdienst; and Deutsche Flugsicherung, Germany’s air traffic control organization. At the same time, the “be a pilot” campaign will take place. In this campaign, flight schools will present useful information about all of the various types of amateur and professional pilot’s licenses.
More than 100 presentations, conferences and workshops on current aviation topics will be take place at the AERO Conferences. Experts from pilots’ associations, regulatory authorities and the manufacturers’ associations GAMA and LAMA as well as many general aviation groups will discuss and provide information about legal and political frameworks, the current state of aviation, and opportunities for improvement.
For those visitors wishing to fly to the AERO 2015 in their own aircraft, slot assignment will be conducted using an online procedure. Slots can be booked starting on March 28, 2015. The glider airfield at Markdorf will again be available for ultralights and powered gliders, with a shuttle service available to take visitors to the AERO.
One more unique feature from the last few years has also proven to be very popular among AERO visitors and will be returning for the fourth time in 2015: the tent city. Visitors will be able to affordably spend the night in an exhibition hall using tents provided by the organizers.
The AERO 2015 will begin on April 15 and last until April 18, 2015.