Aircraft Integration Engineering
Loads analysis and structural interface design for hydrogen and electric propulsion system installation, including propeller loads determination for electric motors, weight and balance effects, pressure vessel installation analysis for hydrogen storage, and thermal management integration within airframe constraints. The analysis produces the interface loads that the structural team needs for sizing the attachment structure.
Certification Pathway Development
Regulatory pathway analysis for new propulsion technologies under CS-23 and CS-25 frameworks determines which special conditions apply, develops an acceptable means of compliance strategy, and identifies the certification basis for novel installations. For retrofit programmes, the scope includes STC roadmap development and authority coordination to confirm the certification approach before design work begins.
Technical Due Diligence
System-level assessment of sustainable aviation projects for investment decisions, programme evaluation, or partnership assessment, covering design review, performance feasibility analysis, safety architecture evaluation, and certification risk assessment. The assessment is evaluated against stated programme timelines, since a technically sound design that cannot be certified within the stated schedule is a programme risk rather than a technology risk.
Certification Oversight
Certifiability monitoring throughout the technology development phases, with design review against airworthiness requirements at programme milestones. The purpose is to identify regulatory challenges before they become programme-critical, rather than discovering compliance gaps during the formal certification process.
Feasibility Studies
Performance analysis based on component specifications and mission profiles, including range and endurance calculations for electric propulsion configurations, operational constraint assessment, and economic viability analysis that accounts for certification cost. The feasibility assessment treats certification cost as a first-order parameter rather than a footnote, because for novel propulsion systems the certification programme can exceed the development cost.
Our Approach
Propulsion system specialists develop motors, fuel cells, and batteries. Aufwind's contribution is ensuring that these systems can be installed, certified, and operated in an aircraft within the regulatory framework. This perspective comes from aircraft integration engineering in the AdHyBau-2 hydrogen research consortium and from participation in EASA hydrogen certification working groups through AZEA.