Innovation in MRO

NLR - Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre

Royal NLR
Innovation in MRO
If you are maintaining aircraft or if you are looking for innovative maintenance technologies to improve the
availability of your aircraft or to reduce costs, NLR can support you. Or if you want to prepare for the future
of aircraft MRO, we are your sparring partner.

Operators, maintenance organisations and OEMs aim for maximum aircraft availability at minimal costs.
This objective drives, to a large extent, the value of aircraft maintenance. Achieving these goals requires
expert knowledge and game-changing technologies. NLR offers practical solutions for excellence in mainte-
nance operations and innovative maintenance technologies to improve availability and affordability for civil
and military maintenance organizations, airlines and OEMs.

We have selected some of the projects, research and capabilities that we have developed ourselves and
together with partners, for you to get to know more about NLR and our MRO activities.

We hope you enjoy reading and discovering more about NLR.

This NLR document is company confidential to its recipients and should not be copied, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part,
nor passed to any third party without prior written consent of NLR. Use, intentionally or unintentionally of any of the content,
information, or services in this document in a manner contrary to the objective of this document is not allowed.

2
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

Maintenance Management Maintenance Technology

NLR creates smarter organisations by NLR creates smarter technologies by
providing managerial decision support developing innovative soft and hardware
tools and consultancy services for tools and solutions. We create new
strategic challenges. We are capable of maintenance resources and capabilities.
balancing business, economic and We employ cutting-edge knowledge and
technological issues. technologies to automate maintenance
tasks and processes using robotics,
prognostics and artificial
intelligence.

MRO solutions
by NLR

Maintenance Training Maintenance Engineering

NLR creates smart training curriculums NLR creates smarter solutions by
and training devices with state-of-the-art combining existing knowledge, techniques
training concepts and technologies. and methods. We optimise your
We create training value using state-of- maintenance operation, maintenance
the-art training design principles and planning, and resources, spares and
modern technologies such as virtual and personnel allocation. We drive process and
augmented reality. product improvements, for example with
quantitative data analysis.

3
FlexPlan
Flight schedule driven maintenance planning
WHY?
Operators use various maintenance planning concepts, however, none of these concepts really takes the
flight program into account. Common maintenance concepts such as block programs are easy to schedule,
but take an aircraft out of service for some time. Equalized programs break up large inspections but they can
introduce excessive access and preparation times. NLR has developed a maintenance planning concept that
solves these issues.

WHAT?
Flexplan is an automated tool that automatically creates maintenance programs and helps you to optimise
your maintenance planning. It offers you aircraft availability and reduces your time spent on maintenance
programs and planning.

4
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

NLR’s FlexPlan
• Reads a Maintenance Planning Document, FlexPlan makes extensive use of Artificial Intelligence
interprets the applicability of individual tasks to optimise the packages, schedule these packages
and creates an operator specific Aircraft and update the schedule.
Maintenance Program automatically
• Creates small packages of tasks, optimally The result is a comprehensive maintenance pro-
clustered to minimise access and preparation gram, with packages that minimise access and prep-
times aration times, that schedules maintenance around
• Assigns the packages to maintenance slots your flight schedule, and is sufficiently robust to
based on the flight schedule facilitate last-minute changes to the maintenance
• Updates the maintenance slots if last-minute schedule if your flight schedule is disrupted.
changes in the flight schedule occur.
And the best thing is, it is all done automatically; you
FlexPlan only uses readily available information, do not need to spend time on an operator specific
namely a Maintenance Planning Document, the air- Aircraft Maintenance Program or maintenance
craft maintenance status, the aircraft configuration, scheduling. It is all done for you. And since FlexPlan
a flight schedule, and a list of maintenance facilities. adheres to the task intervals specified by the original
We then use an automated workflow to dissect the equipment manufacturer, you do not face regulatory
Maintenance Planning Document, create packages, issues.
schedule these packages and update the schedule if
required.
Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

5 Training Engineering
6
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

ARVI
Autonomous Robot for Visual Inspections
WHY?
Aircraft technicians are scarce. And with the increas- We use an autonomous vehicle to move the sensor
ing worldwide aircraft fleet and aging of technicians, system to the inspection areas, whether it is a zone
the situation is likely to get worse. or a system component. ARVI can navigate through
the hangar and through aircraft just like human
A solution could be to automate your visual inspec- technicians. She avoids collisions and positions the
tions? As an alternative for your aircraft technicians, sensor system autonomously.
for example an autonomous system to perform
time-consuming visual aircraft inspections. ARVI has a modular design what makes it easy to
configure the robot for specific areas. We may need
WHAT? different movement systems for work in fuel tanks
NLR developed ARVI (Autonomous Robot for Visual and on top of the fuselage. Our modular approach
Inspections), a clever robot system able to map means that these adaptations will have a minimal
inspection areas and identify defects such as dents, effect on the other modules
scratches, broken wires, arcing, corrosion, dirt, leak-
ages and many more.

Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

7 Training Engineering
 FD XAI
Failure diagnostics with eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)
WHY?
Would you like to know how your component or FD XAI not only identifies the failure modes, it also
when system is going to fail, before it fails? This explains why a specific failure mode occurs (and not
would help you with your troubleshooting, repair another failure mode). The explanation helps main-
planning or to scope repairs to preventively remove tenance personnel understand the diagnosis, and
a working component. troubleshoot failures on the line and in the shop.

WHAT? Failure diagnoses using eXplainable Artificial

NLR developed a new tool to diagnose failures using Intelligence can be performed before a part actually
Artificial Intelligence. It is a clever piece of software fails. This means that it is a useful tool to determine
that looks at the failure modes of previous repairs the failure mode of parts removed in serviceable
and the aircraft usage. We use Artificial Intelligence condition based on predictive indicators. It helps the
to determine the relation between aircraft and sys- shops to repair these parts and it reduces
tem usage and the actual failure modes of repaired no-fault-founds.
parts. We can use these relationships to diagnose
components or systems and identify the failure
modes.

The trust in the results of computerized diagnoses is

highly dependent on the transparency of the analy-
ses. To make the outcomes of failure diagnoses
acceptable for maintenance personnel, the algo-
Maintenance
Management
Maintenance
Technology
rithms use eXplainable Artificial Intelligence.
MRO

Maintenance Maintenance
Training Engineering
8
ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

9
10
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

AARE
Aircraft availability and resource estimator
WHY?
Maintaining aircraft means balancing budgets and AARE serves different purposes. It can help you with
resources to achieve the best aircraft availability. your financial and operational planning in an exist-
This balancing act is complicated by uncertainty; ing operation. However, you can also use it if your
maintenance is inherently unpredictable. operations change or of you prepare for fleet chang-
es, such as the introduction of a new aircraft type. It
WHAT? also offers an interesting learning experience for
AARE or aircraft availability and resource estimator managers and management trainees. AARE can be
offers a management decision support tool to deter- tailored to your needs.
mine the impact of changes to budgets and resourc-
es on the fleet availability (and vice versa) based on
realistic reliability data, and it is specifically tailored
to cope with uncertainty. It provides the user with
valuable insights into the relation between fleet
availability, resources and budget. It supports you
with your financial planning, and set realistic availa-
bility targets, such as your On Time Performance.

Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

11 Training Engineering
Project customers:
Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF)
Defence Equipment Organisation (DMO)
Research organisations: NLR
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

Start: February 2000

Duration: ongoing

12
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

F-35 Acquisition
& Operational Readiness Preparation
WHY? WHAT?
NLR helped the Royal Netherlands Airforce (RNLAF) The activities mentioned helped develop a variety of
with the F-35 acquisition and operational readiness products and services, including:
by focussing on transforming the Defence Equipment
Organisation (DMO) into a smart buyer and by assist- • Initial and recurrent training course content for
ing the Air Force with a smooth transition from F-16 pilots and maintenance staff
to F-35. Within this programme, multiple training & • Design and execution of an Operational Test &
education projects have been carried out to design Evaluation plan for Continuation Training
and improve training for pilots, maintenance staff, • Design and construction of a WLT (Weapons
and mission support crew. Loader Trainer) including Augmented Reality
applications.
HOW?
Several training methods, tools and activities conduct-
ed by NLR throughout the F-35 programme include:

• Training Needs Analysis for pilot maintenance

staff, and mission-support roles
• Design of a F-35 Pilot Competency Profile, initial
and recurrent training course content
• Training Media Selection Analysis
• Business case for a Maintainer Training Centre
(MTC)
Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

13 Training Engineering
Project partners:
Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM)
Research organisation: NLR

Start: June 2016

End: 2019

14
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

Augmented reality for maintenance training

WHY?
KLM expressed the need for more innovative train- interface experts and educational experts, which
ing media to modernise and improve maintenance ensured accuracy and acceptance of intermediate
training. and final results.

HOW? WHAT?
To ensure well integrated use of training media, the The result of the project is a modernised, problem-
project started with a review of the current training based training design for maintenance training that
design and analysis of current training content. enhances understanding of the systems and system
Subsequently, there was a study of whether Augmented interaction. This design comprises less traditional
Reality (AR) could add value for the aircraft systems instruction and more trainee activity via paper-based
that are difficult to train through traditional classroom assignments and problem-based AR scenarios.
training. Requirements for the AR application and
training design were defined before starting actual The experiments proved that trainees score better
development. Finally the prototype was evaluated using AR when it is fully integrated in the training
through an experiment. design; trainees retained more of what they learned,
had deeper understanding and retention time was
The project is performed in a highly interactive and longer compared to the traditional classroom train-
agile way. Bi-weekly sprints were held with experts ing. Important lessons learned are the importance
from relevant areas such as maintenance experts, of shared AR and a maximum of 20 minutes wearing
application developers, human machine the AR goggles.

Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

15 Training Engineering
 Competency based maintenance training
WHY?
The development of the European Military Aviation Working sessions with the instructors and developers
Regulations (EMAR) resulted in changes in the Dutch were subsequently held, in order to develop a training
military aviation regulations. The content and levels in accordance with this concept.
of the maintenance type training for the F-16,
AH-64D, CH-47D/F and the NH-90NFH therefore WHAT?
needed to be updated. Besides, the training did not First, a competency based training concept wasde-
fully meet the needs of the (novice) maintenance fined in line with the 4 components instructional
mechanic and the training did not always represent design principles (4C/ID). This concept focuses on
the actual work of mechanic accurately. The focus of whole task training. Theory and part task practice
the training was merely on theory. Practice was not are integrated to support the whole task scenario.
offered in an integrated manner. Based on the outcome of the training needs analysis,
qualification profiles were defined. Finally the train-
HOW? ing, including supporting materials, was developed.
In cooperation with maintenance mechanics and Besides training materials, an assessment method
instructors, the different steps in an instructional also was developed, allowing student coaching and
design process have been carried out. To analyse the evaluation. This method comprises competencies
training needs, several workshops where held with including their observable behaviours and can be
both experienced and inexperienced maintenance used for continuous coaching and assessment.
mechanics. Throughout the process, different pres-
entations and discussions were held to explain and
define the desired training concept.
Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance
Training Engineering
16
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

Project partners:
Royal Netherlands Air Force:
Royal Military Air Force School (KMSL)
Research organisation: NLR

Start: May 2014

Duration: 3 years

17
 Additive Manufacturing for Royal
Netherlands Air Force
NLR has more than 50 years of experience of metals
which is incredibly important for additive manufac-
turing research, together with knowledge of aircraft
certification. With the increased understanding of
the printing process and subsequent reproducibility,
applications using metal printed parts in aircraft
components are becoming feasible from an eco-
nomic point of view are now much closer. Of course,
you can print the same thing twelve times in one
print job, then test eleven of them and put the twelfth
in the aircraft. But that obviously makes the twelfth
component far too expensive. You want to be able to
print such a component in large numbers, be able to
detect production faults, and know for certain that
approved components can be fitted in the aircraft.

First for the Royal Netherlands Air Force

The first printed product in the Netherlands by metal
additive manufacturing that actually flew on a heli-
copter at year-end 2016 was a ladder mount for the
NH90 helicopter of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance
Training Engineering
18
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

It is a coupling that is affixed to the helicopter and to The 3D-printed ladder bracket is 40% lighter but
which a ladder can be mounted so as to perform stronger and more durable than the original design.
maintenance. Although hardly a critical part from an 3D printing enables the Royal Netherlands Air Force
operational point of view, it was a good case to start to have parts produced faster, reduce maintenance
with. It showed how it could be useful for an organi- costs, and at the end improve the deployability of
sation like the air force. Metal additive manufactur- her weapon systems. The Royal Netherlands Air
ing also raises an important logistics-critical question Force commissioned the development of the ladder
for the air force, namely whether on a mission you bracket. The project was a collaborative venture,
can print parts locally instead of taking them with with Fokker Aerostructures responsible for engi-
you or having them sent out. neering, NLR-Netherlands Aerospace Centre for 3D
printing and testing, BPO-Delft for redesign and the
Defence Materiel Organisation for certification.

19
 DEMETER: Improve the technology readiness level of
promising structural health monitoring systems
WHY? HOW?
Many (aircraft) structures have multiple load paths Within DEMETER SHM technologies based on optical
where after a (partial) failure of a load path the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were developed for
remaining structure can carry the limit load without multiple load path structural components. An FBG is
catastrophic failure until the structure is repaired, a small segment in an optical fiber that causes a shift
replaced or modified. The structural integrity of an in wavelength due to stretching or compressing of
aircraft is sustained by means of repeated (costly) the fiber which can be correlated with a strain value.
inspections. Application of a reliable SHM system for
multiple load path structures therefore is an inter- FBGs have a number of appealing advantages for
esting application area to reduce the cost of owner- application in (aircraft) structures, such as light
ship and to improve the system operational availa- weight, many sensors in one fiber, tolerant for harsh
bility. This would prevent periodic (costly) inspections environments (temperature, chemical components),
and allows maintenance on demand after the sys- long term stability and durable, completely passive
tem signals a (partial) failure. Especially in hard to and no interference with other signals. The optical
inspect areas this could yield a significant mainte- fibers can be embedded in the (composite) structure
nance cost saving. Examples are: the wing or tail or surface mounted.
structure consisting of multiple spars and a lower
and upper skin that often can sustain a broken spar,
the vertical stabilizer and wing attach fittings, a wing
carry through bulkhead or engine mounts.

Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance
Training Engineering
20
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

WHAT?
First, a competency based training concept wasde-
fined in line with the 4 components instructional
design principles (4C/ID). This concept focuses on
whole task training. Theory and part task practice are
integrated to support the whole task scenario. Based
on the outcome of the training needs analysis, quali-
fication profiles were defined. Finally the training,
including supporting materials, was developed.
Besides training materials, an assessment method
also was developed, allowing student coaching and
evaluation. This method comprises competencies
including their observable behaviours and can be
used for continuous coaching and assessment.

Project partners:
Industry (EU): Airbus (DE)
Research organisations:
German Aerospace Centre (DLR), NLR

Start: December 2015

Duration: 4 years

21
22
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

ALGesMo: Advanced Landing Gear Sensing and Monitoring

WHY? WHAT?
Landing gears are designed according to the Safe- In the project a complete monitoring system is being
Life philosophy yielding a fixed number of load developed and tested on ground. The monitoring
cycles. The true loads on landing gears during opera- system consists of a (retrofit) sensor system for the
tion are not measured and the gear is replaced when landing gears, an optical fibre processing unit that
it reaches the design life, irrespective of the remain- can be mounted in the electronics bay of civil aircraft
ing life. By measuring the loads on the landing gears to measure the response of the optical fibre sensors
the usage life can be improved. Apart from this, vari- based on state-of-the-art photonic integrated chips,
ous other important quantities can be measured the routing and harness of the optical connection
such as: accurate detection of hard landings, aircraft between the sensor system and optical fibre pro-
weight and balance measurements, sensitive air- cessing unit. The whole system will be thoroughly
ground transition detection, braking torque control tested in a dedicated test rig to determine its perfor-
and others. mance under limit load conditions and endurance
testing at elevated temperatures.
HOW?
Several systems have been tried in the past to measure
the loads on a landing gear. These all failed for one rea- Project partners
son or another. A new very promising approach is to Industry (NL): Technobis Fibre Technologies BV
measure the loads with the use of optical fibre Bragg Industry (EU): Airbus (UK), MEGGITT (UK and CH)
grating (FBG) sensors, which offer several advantages Research organisation: NLR
over traditional sensors, such as low weight, no EMI, no
recalibration and robust for harsh environments. Start: September 2016
Duration: 4 years Maintenance
Management
Maintenance
Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

23 Training Engineering
 1NTEGRATE: an integrated Structural Health Monitoring
system for stationary and rotating aircraft components,
based on fibre optic sensing
WHY? optic interrogator based on ASPIC technology (application
The sustainment costs of military aircraft make up a sub- specific photonic integrated circuits). The loads and dam-
stantial part of the total life cycle costs. An important age data collected with the SHM system will be fully syn-
world-wide trend in this respect is the transition from cor- chronized with data from other sources, such as flight and
rective and preventative maintenance to predictive main- usage parameters. The fibre optic sensors in the form of
tenance, which is expected to lead to large cost savings Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBG) that are incorporated in the
and availability improvements. For predictive mainte- SHM system will offer many significant advantages over
nance it is essential that the actual system condition can conventional strain gauges.
be measured. Much research effort is currently being put
in the development of technologies that enable predictive WHAT?
maintenance, among which Structural Health Monitoring The SHM system will enable loads & usage monitoring to
(SHM). However, the transition of these technologies into be performed much more efficiently in comparison with
service is very slow. One reason for this is the lack of currently available technology. Moreover, it will combine
standardization and the poor integration of the new tech- functionalities that could not be combined before, viz.
nologies with existing data acquisition systems. simultaneous loads monitoring, mechanical impact event
detection and damage detection/localization, both in sta-
HOW? tionary and in rotating aircraft components. The following
The project partners aim to integrate three key data acqui- examples serve to show the relevance and potential use
sition technologies into one comprehensive Structural of the developed SHM technology
Health Monitoring system for stationary and rotating air- • Loads monitoring of landing gears (hard landings,
craft components, based on fibre optic sensing: an exist- remaining useful life)
ing modular data acquisition unit, a patented contactless • SHM of medium-sized and large UAVs
Maintenance
Management
Maintenance
Technology
power and data transfer module and a miniaturized fibre • Enhanced rotor balancing of helicopters
MRO

Maintenance Maintenance
Training Engineering
24
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

Project partners:
Industry: Technobis Fibre Technologies, ACQ
International, Curtiss-Wright Avionics & Electronics
Research organisation: NLR

Start: October 2017

Duration: 3 years

25
26
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

Development of chromate free primer technology

WHY?
For decades, RNLAF has relied on the robust corrosion inhibi- Thereto, paint systems known to have good properties were
tion by use of pre-treatments and primers containing hexava- selected as positive references for comparison. In the second
lent chromium. However, the downside to the use of Cr6+ is its phase, the improved primers will be tested again to determine the
toxicity to humans and the environment. As a result, the use of degree of improvement.
Cr6+ is restricted increasingly by legislation such as REACh
(Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of WHAT?
Chemicals). The research into chromate free products is ongo- The main R&D activities of the project are:
ing for years and this research contributes to developing alter- • Development of magnesium rich primermagnesium
native products for corrosion prevention. particles serve as sacrificial anode to the underlying
substrate, which is more noble than magnesium)
HOW? • Development of lithium inhibitor technology Similarly to
The project is divided into two phases. During the first phase, the chromates, the lithium salts leaches out of the primer upon
chromate free inhibition technologies in their current develop- damaging of the coating. The lithium salts form a protec-
ment stage are benchmarked with existing chromate containing tive layer on the (aluminium) substrate
and chromate free primers. The screening consists of testing for
the properties adhesion (dry and wet), corrosion resistance (in Project partners
various forms), and flexibility. The latter property is of importance Industry: Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coatings
especially for fighter aircraft, which undergo significant deflections Research organisations (NL): NLR
under certain loading conditions. The goal of the benchmark test- Defence Material Organisation
ing is to determine performance in comparison with existing prod-
ucts and determine areas in which improvement of the lithium Start: January 2017
and magnesium technology is desired. Duration: 2 years Maintenance
Management
Maintenance
Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance

27 Training Engineering
 Engineering Failure Analysis
Do you need to know the root cause of why your Equipment for mechanical testing, materials analysis
component, structure or plant failed? What causes and fractography, which enable full analysis capabili-
your decrease in production yield? Or to know ties, including: dynamic and static test machines,
whether your component or structure sustained optical- and scanning electron microscopes (SEM),
damage during operations that exceeded the opera- energy dispersive analysis of X-rays in the SEM (EDX,
tional limits? Do you need a second opinion, an inde- for analysis of the chemical composition) and non-
pendent expert, a report on failure analysis or rec- destructive testing.
ommendations to prevent failure in the future?
From a multi-disciplinary approach NLR delivers the
NLR’s Test House is specialized in material research essential feedback to design, manufacturing, main-
and engineering failure analysis on complex compo- tenance/repair and safe operation.
nents. We have over 60 years of experience in aero-
space, defense and high tech industry that strive for
the highest safety standards with extensive knowl-
edge on failure modes of materials with a specializa-
tion in:
• structural materials
• high temperature materials (Ni-, Co- and
Ti-alloys)
• composites

Maintenance Maintenance
Management Technology

MRO

Maintenance Maintenance
Training Engineering
28
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

NLR offers material and failure analysis for the aerospace and high tech industry.
From a multi-disciplinary approach NLR delivers the essential feedback to design,
manufacturing, maintenance/repair and safe operation. The modern material facilities and
extensive experience provide NLR the capabilities to ensure proper material solutions for our
national and international customers.

29
Royal NLR in brief

30
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

About NLR
Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre
NLR is a leading international research centre for aerospace. Its mission is to make air transport safer, more
efficient, more effective and more sustainable. Bolstered by its multidisciplinary expertise and unrivalled
research facilities, NLR provides innovative and comprehensive solutions to the complex challenges of the
aerospace sector.

NLR's activities span the full spectrum of Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation (RDT & E). Given NLR's
specialist knowledge and state-of-the-art facilities, companies turn to NLR for validation, verification,
qualification, simulation and evaluation. They also turn to NLR because of its deep engagement with the
challenges facing our clients. In this way, NLR bridges the gap between research and practical applications,
while working for both government and industry at home and abroad.

Royal NLR stands for practical and innovative solutions, technical expertise and a long-term design vision,
regarding their fixed wing aircraft, helicopter, drones and space exploration projects. This allows NLR’s
cutting-edge technology to find its way also into successful aerospace programmes of OEMs like Airbus,
Boeing and Embraer.

31
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

A century of knowledge
and innovation in aerospace
Wanting to progress is human nature. We dream about the unknown. We’re curious about what we may find
beyond the horizon and want to get to the bottom of things we don’t understand. NLR has been an ambi-
tious, knowledge-based organization for a hundred years now, with a deep-seated desire to keep innovating.
We are very proud that we have received the royal predicate and that we are now the Royal Netherlands
Aerospace Centre. Our knowledge and expertise have made us one of the driving forces in the aerospace
sector, both in our own country and abroad. Our staff search tirelessly for new technology and have the cour-
age to think outside the box, translating trends and developments into actual solutions for the market.
That drive is helping us make the world of transport safer, greener, more efficient and more effective.

Above all, we keep looking ahead – because we have to keep setting ourselves tougher challenges if aero-
space is to become more sustainable in the long term. How can we make sure that the environmental impact
is minimized? How can we guarantee aviation safety despite its exponential growth? In short, how can we use
airspace more efficiently? How can we make the best possible use of satellites and satellite data? The future
looks highly demanding yet fascinating and it will require even faster innovation and closer cooperation, with
the right driving forces behind it. We are devoting our knowledge and expertise to that future, with an eye on
the interests of the commercial sector, the general public and the environment at all times.

Together with our partners, we can help shape the fascinating world of tomorrow. We are on the threshold
of innovations that will really break the mould. But plans and ideas only really get moving if they are nour-
ished with the right kind of energy – and the amazing thing is that the source of that energy is still exactly the
same as it was when we started a hundred years ago. That driving force is NLR’s knowledge.

Knowledge powers the future

33
NLR research aircraft
1919 - now

Cessna 550 Citation II

Hybrid electric propulsion Pipistrel
(HEP) study model Electric plane

34
 ROYAL NETHERLANDS AEROSPACE CENTRE | INNOVATION IN MRO

Fairchild Swearingen
SA226-TC Metro II
Hawker Hunter T.7 Fokker F.VIIa PH-NLL

Queen Air Fokker S.14.1 Machtrainer Fokker F.II PH-RSL

35
NLR Amsterdam NLR Marknesse
Anthony Fokkerweg 2 Voorsterweg 31
1059 CM Amsterdam 8316 PR Marknesse
p ) +31 88 511 3113 p ) +31 88 511 4444
e ) info@nlr.nl i ) www.nlr.org e ) info@nlr.nl i ) www.nlr.org

© NLR - Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre

Oktober 2019