National Institute for Aviation Research expands aerospace research and development capabilities

The National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University and Raytheon Aircraft Company are collaborating in an innovative technology arrangement that will greatly expand the Institute's aerospace research and development capabilities.

The National Institute for Aviation Research will occupy and supply testing services in the full-scale structural test laboratory of Raytheon Aircraft at its manufacturing campus in Wichita, Kan. This laboratory will become the Institute's Aircraft Structural Testing and Evaluation Center (ASTEC), which will provide research and testing services to other aircraft manufacturers as well as governmental agencies.

Included in the Aircraft Structural Testing and Evaluation Center are 46,000 square feet of hangar space, access to an 8,000-foot runway, and approximately $10 million in reliable test equipment.

Raytheon Aircraft is the Institute's launch customer. The laboratory will provide structural testing for Raytheon Aircraft's entire product range, including current work on Hawker Horizon fatigue and static tests.

"I appreciate Raytheon Aircraft's enterprising approach to achieving full utilization of these aerospace testing facilities while fortifying the R&D capabilities of the National Institute for Aviation Research," said John Tomblin, executive director of the National Institute for Aviation Research.

"With these additional substantial test facilities from Raytheon Aircraft, the National Institute for Aviation Research strengthens its structural testing and aircraft evaluation capabilities so we can now offer expanded services to the leading aviation manufacturers and designers from around the world who utilize our research team," he added.

"This creative arrangement offers the best of both worlds," said Raytheon Aircraft Chairman and CEO Jim Schuster. "It retains jobs in Wichita and offers a chance for job growth in the future. Raytheon Aircraft benefits through a strengthened relationship with WSU and reduced fixed costs."

The innovative arrangement will allow the Institute to establish a national center for full-scale testing services to the broader aviation community while enabling Raytheon Aircraft to concentrate on other aspects of aviation manufacturing such as design and fabrication while reducing costs for structural testing.

As additional companies propose and design new aircraft, the National Institute for Aviation Research will be able to offer state-of-the-art testing solutions at an affordable cost. The Institute will continue to offer proprietary services to the aerospace industry while providing individual companies with competitive security.

This facility will also be unique in the way in which the relationship between industry and academia has evolved.

"Not only will the Institute be able to perform the required testing for industry, but the facility will be a unique classroom for undergraduate and graduate students to achieve hands-on-training," said Wichita State University President Don Beggs. "The Institute will be able to offer these services on both the industry testing level as well as the research level. This facility will place the Institute among the most unique university-based research facilities in the world."

This adds substantial capacity to existing National Institute for Aviation Research facilities, which already encompass a 74,000-square-foot laboratory complex at WSU and a talented work force of more than 200, including 130 qualified staff members and faculty associates who have undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in aerospace and engineering-related disciplines.

"The National Institute for Aviation Research has performed laboratory research for many distinguished aerospace manufacturers and aircraft designers and these added facilities and equipment will permit our service to the aviation industry to grow even further," Tomblin said.

The Institute's Aging Aircraft Research Laboratory will also be relocated to this new facility. This laboratory conducts research in support of various military aircraft as well as research supported by the Federal Aviation Administration on the aging commuter aircraft fleet. In addition, this laboratory will house the ongoing efforts involved with advanced health monitoring techniques to detect aircraft structural degradation. This research is envisioned to grow in the coming years, and this site will accommodate that growth.

FMI: www.raytheonaircraft.com, www.wichita.edu