An app offering landing tips and a scientist developing ways to reduce maintenance costs and are among the 12 nominees for the Aerospace Australia industry innovation awards.
The nominees will be featured at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, with the awards to be handed out at the event on February 24.
Aerospace Australia chief executive Ian Honnery said a specially created innovation awards showcase was the “perfect platform to present the best of Australian innovation to a global audience of aerospace and defence professionals”.
“For more than a century Australia has been a leading world player in aviation and aerospace engineering, in both peace and war,” Honnery said in a statement.
“The 12 companies and individuals shortlisted for these Innovation Awards are maintaining that tradition.”
Queensland University of Technology PhD student Vanessa Lussini is working with organic compounds developing sensors that alert maintenance crews when an aircraft needs repainting.
Lussini, from the university’s School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, said her project aimed to “create new, more resilient sensors” to detect deterioration.
“Longer lasting sensors that can cope with harsh environmental conditions will make it easier to monitor and maintain aircraft coatings,” Lussini said in a statement.
“The reapplication of these coatings is costly so utilising condition based monitoring over basic periodic maintenance can maximise the potential lifetime of the product, optimise maintenance schedules and reduce costs.”
Another nominee is the Jacobson Flare, developed by retired Qantas pilot David Jacobson.
Initially a teaching tool for helping pilots improve their landing skills, the Jacobson Flare technique has been adopted by many flight schools and pilots since it was developed in 1987.
In July 2014, it was released as a digital app.
“The opportunity to have it in convenient digital form on an iPad will suit to improve industry penetration and offer predictable and consistently better landings for those who are always seeking to better their skill set,” the company said at the time of the app’s launch.
The awards will be presented at the Avalon Airshow on February 24 in six categories:
- Defence Industry National Innovation Award
- Civil Industry National Innovation Award
- Defence Industry SME Innovation Grant
- Civil Industry SME Innovation Grant
- Young Innovator Scholarship for Defence Industry
- Young Innovator Scholarship for Civil Industry
The full list of nominees are:
- Defence Materials Technology Centre Ltd (DMTC), VIC – new, cheaper manufacturing tools and processes for Titanium components
- Quickstep Systems Pty Ltd (NSW) – Quickstep rapid manufacturing process for composite materials
- BAE Systems Pty Ltd (SA) – Implementation of Lean and Continuous Improvement philosophies
- Rosebank Engineering (VIC) – Supersonic Particle Deposition
- Bower Aero (VIC) – Bower Bond plastics repair technology
- Institute of Instrumentation, Control and Automation Inc (IICA) (VIC) – National Course in Pyrometric requirements for Thermal processing
- The Jacobson Flare Pty Ltd (VIC) – Jacobson Flare App to teach landing techniques
- Trakka Corp Pty Ltd (VIC) – A800 helicopter searchlight
- AvSoft Australia Pty Ltd (VIC) – AvPlan Electronic Flight Bag for tablet computers
- Gamechanger Technologies Pty Ltd (VIC) – VForce Morphing aerofoil technology
- Ms Vanessa Claire Lussini (Queensland University of Technology) – Sensors to monitor the breakdown of aircraft and aerostructure surface coatings
- Mr Abdulghani Mohammed (RMIT University) – Phase-Advanced Sensing to reduce effects of turbulence in flight
