The MAHEPA project provided a well-thought-out steppingstone for future research and development within the Autumn school, organized online between 9th and 13th November 2020.
The project consortium envisioned a qualitative transfer of new gained knowledge and the result of the idea was the MAHEPA Autumn school. 20 top students from all over the world participated in a one week of intense lectures, where project partners shared their results, challenges, new findings, and knowledge behind new technologies that made the development of two 4-seater hybrid-electric aircraft possible.
Students were familiarized with operating requirements and conceptual design of hybrid-electric aircraft, technological features and sizing criteria of fuel cell systems, design principles of electrical machines, integration aspects during production of more sustainable aircraft and strategic implementation of hybrid-electric aircraft – from market implementation to ground infrastructure investment plan.
The first three days were finished off with teamwork assignments, where students got a direct insight into the actual work of project consortium. The consortium provided software, procedures and models that were developed during MAHEPA project and enabled students to gain a more practical view of new technologies by solving different but connecting tasks.
Friday, November 13th, 2020, was the final day of the MAHEPA Autumn school, where four student groups presented their results to the consortium and to say the least, the partners were impressed by their out-of-box thinking and understanding of hybrid-electric aviation aspects.
The students commonly agreed that although it was an intense week of not only very condensed but also very novel knowledge, it was an amazing and unique experience which offered valuable insights into the cooperation of companies and universities following the mutual goal of more sustainable aviation.