In 2003 a single central body, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), was formed to undertake the regulatory role for safety in civil aviation, including airworthiness. As a consequence, greater emphasis toward the safety and proof of compliance with regulations has been placed on the aviation industry.

Our expertise in airworthiness ranges from initial considerations during the design process through life to in-service aircraft maintenance. Our strength is in understanding and interpreting regulations for civil and military, particularly how they relate to technology. Airworthiness capabilities and courses include:

  • Maintenance Operations – aircraft maintenance scheduling, management of logistics and human factors.
  • Practical Reliability – design for airworthiness including assessment of components and entire fleets.
  • Safety Assessment – approaches to assessing the safety of increasingly complex aircraft systems.

Education and training is a significant part of the service we are able to offer clients.

We have worked with a number of clients from across the world including Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, ITT Corporation, Ministry of Defence, QinetiQ, Raytheon Systems Ltd, Royal Netherlands Air Force and tlmNEXUS.

About our research

Our greatest strength is the ability to combine the academic rigour and long-term perspective of a university with the commercial and business focus of industry.

Our excellence in strategic and applied research has enabled us to make significant contributions to the world around us for over 60 years. We address real life challenges and focus on research that is of strategic and practical importance.

We provide a supportive research community for students and our academic work is regularly published in journal article, book or thesis form.

Working with us

Education and training is a significant part of the service we are able to offer clients. Our Masters programme in Airworthiness has been established for nearly ten years and we have a portfolio of open short courses.

We have provided in-company training at Masters level on subjects ranging from military airworthiness to applied safety assessment. Teaching focuses on practical application as well as theory to consolidate learning.