Full Size Facsimiles

EDM's experience in the design and manufacture of full size facsimiles for training, planning, and ergonomics is well known throughout the aerospace industry.

Full size replicas are a unique way of demonstrating the quality and aesthetics of a product. They can be educational tools in a visitor's centre or the centrepiece at an exhibition or conference. They demonstrate concept functionality and operational benefits. Facsimiles can range from low to high fidelity depending on the project and the customer's requirements or budget.

A full size replica can be a unique engineering tool for assisting designers in the development process incorporating and combining ergonomics, operational qualities, safety, functionality, size and scaling.

EDM has the capability to produce full size facsimiles for virtually any product, vehicle or aircraft. Many of these become the design prototype prior to development and manufacture.

COMAC C919

Project Profile

EDM supplied COMAC with a full engineering mock-up of the C919 cockpit/ fuselage, which was the centre piece of the COMAC display and unveiled to the world’s media at Chinas’ aerospace exhibition in Zhuhai in November 2010.

The Zhuhai Air Show was a huge success for COMAC with the mock up providing the perfect testament of their design concept. Since its unveiling, the mock-up has also been displayed at the “Eleventh Five-Year" National Key Science and Technology Exhibition in Beijing and was showcased in Europe at the Paris Air show in June 2011.

The mock-up highlights the new design features of the C919 aircraft. It will not only to be used as an engineering aid; but will also serve as a prototype simulator for flight crew training. EDM’s specialist engineering team and representatives of COMAC’s aircraft design group worked in close collaboration to perfect the ergonomic design. The project was completed in record time, only six months from its contract award in March 2010.

The full-size assembly embodies an 18-metre fuselage section complete with high-fidelity flight deck, cockpit displays, passenger seating, in-flight entertainment system and a range of detailed features. It was assembled in the UK before being air freighted to China.

Eurofighter Typhoon Weapons Demonstrator

Project Profile

Two full size jets for BAE Systems were designed and manufactured to demonstrate the current and future weapons fit for the Eurofighter Typhoon, which was new at the time.

The Weapons Demonstrator cockpit was fully detailed and included simulated weapons and pylons as a replica in fit and form of the real equipment. The weapon facsimiles are detailed to ensure total realism with the capability to provide software interrogation of stores and the maintenance data panel can be modified to suit the customer’s requirement.

NIMROD MRA4

Project Profile

The Nimrod MRA4 offers unrivalled operational effectiveness, incorporating an advanced technical, mission capability and a fully integrated training system.

Working with a prime contractor on this project, EDM designed and built the evacuation trainer with a full length fuselage (95’ long by 6’6” diameter) and partial wings to enable realistic evacuation procedures to be implemented.
The interior is fully modeled to represent the equipment layout, the main and overwing escape door are replicated to function as the real aircraft. The features activated from the IOS (instructor operating station) include fire and smoke, communications and lighting, breathing air and smoke extraction.

The trainer is equipped for situational awareness as a fully integrated evacuation trainer for Flight Crew and Cabin Crew and includes fire and smoke training equipment.

It has a fully representative Flight Deck and the mission deck area includes a Radar workstation, an ESM workstation, an acoustic workstation and an ordnance workstation.

The scope of work also included the provision of operation and maintenance manuals.

If necessary the design of the trainer also allows it to be capable of being dismantled and moved to a different location.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Project Profile

The facsimile was manufactured for permanent display in a suspended location at RAF Hendon.

The Eurofighter Typhoon was produced from glass-fibre re-enforced panels and skins, mounted onto a specially designed fabricated steel skeleton framework. The materials and method of manufacture were developed specifically to ensure the facsimile was structurally stable to allow it to be suspended from the ceiling. Fixing points for suspension cables were incorporated into the replica at specific points so it could be suspended at the required angle.

The completed aircraft was fully representative of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the cockpit canopy and front screen were GRP shaped mouldings with tinted acrylic to obscure the cockpit interior.

It was constructed in major components for ease of installation on site.

Mantis

Project Profile

Under a contract awarded by the UK MOD in July 2008, BAE Systems were appointed as the industry lead and prime contractor of a jointly funded project to develop a world-class Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator (ACTD) called Mantis.

Mantis is an advanced technological demonstrator Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

With a very tight timescale EDM were contracted by BAE Systems to manufacture a full scale mock-up which was unveiled at the Farnborough International Air Show in July 2008.