AIDAA News #16

1 Aerospace Italy 2024 Website

AIDAA is pleased to share the Aerospace Italy 2024 Initiative website, https://www.aidaa.it/aerospaceitaly2024/, containing information on how to support, attend, and organize events during 2023 and 2024. The aim is the promotion and sharing of the aerospace culture during the year in which Italy is the host of three major events, namely, the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the 34th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), and the 30th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference. In addition, events will be organized in most Italian cities with the involvement of Universities, Schools, Enterprises, and Institutions.

2 ICAS 2022 in Stockholm

ICAS2022 was held in Stockholm in September. Such a successful event had five days of expositions, technical sessions, and visits. More than 1000 delegates from more than 35 countries attended ICAS2022 and delivered more than 500 lectures.

AIDAA promoted ICAS2024 in Florence and contributed with more than 60 attendees and 45 papers sent by some 15 universities, research centers, and companies.

During ICAS2022, CleanSky2 received the von Kármán Award for the International Cooperation in Aeronautics. Axel Krein (Airbus), Sabine Klauke (Airbus), Eric Dalbiès (Safran), and Marco Protti (Leonardo Aircraft) received the award in recognition of the successful collaboration stemmed from an ecosystem of 5000 scientists and engineers with more than 360 SMEs, 310 industry partners, 150 universities and 110 research centers, including several Italian researchers and partners.

3 IAC 2022 in Paris

IAC2022 was held in Paris and attended by hundreds of companies and thousands of visitors. Furthermore, during the five days of the congress, AIDAA promoted IAC2024 in Milan with many initiatives, e.g., at the Italian Embassy in Paris, the Ambassador of Italy to France, H.F. Teresa Castaldo, hosted a cocktail reception to promote the 75th IAC in Milan.

During IAC2022, AIDAA selected the mascot for the Milan edition via an online survey, and Mimi, the astronaut, was the selected one.

4 27th AIDAA Congress in Padova—Call for Abstracts

The University of Padova will host the next Congress of AIDAA from 4 to 7th September 2023, https://www.aidaa.it/aidaa2023/. The AIDAA Congress brings together an international community of academic and non-academic delegates to share the latest findings in aeronautics and astronautics science and technology. The AIDAA 2023 technical program will include plenary and parallel sessions, keynote talks, mini-symposia, and other events. Abstracts can be submitted until 16th April 2023, and contributions in all aerospace engineering and science fields are encouraged, including, but not limited to, Aerodynamics and Fluid dynamics, Propulsion, Materials and Structures, Aerospace Systems, Flight Mechanics and Control, Space Systems and Missions.

5 AIDAA to Host the International Conference on Space Exploration

AIDAA is glad to announce that the International Conference on Space Exploration will be held in Politecnico di Torino from 10 to 12th May 2023, www.academieairespace.com/space-exploration. For the first time, the Air and Space Academy (AAE) decided to have its annual event outside of France, and AIDAA is proud to have been selected as the organizing partner. Furthermore, the Politecnico di Torino and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) strongly support the conference. The conference’s purpose is to focus on central themes for Space Exploration, with keynote speakers from agencies, industry, and academia. In addition, several talks delivered by leading experts will address exploration purposes and policies, an overview of the current state of play of scientific knowledge and technical progress, and space policies.

6 100th Anniversary of the First Flight of the WAL Seaplane

The WAL seaplane made its first flight at “Boccadarno” in Marina di Pisa on 6 November 1922, exactly one century ago. The Dornier Wal was a true jewel of technology for the time, made with the innovative material, duralumin. Marina di Pisa had been chosen to construct this new seaplane for the appreciated skills of its workers who already worked on similar machines (but in wood) in the Boccadarno plants, which later became CMASA, Costruzioni Meccaniche Aeronautica S.A. The German engineer Claude Dornier chose that Tuscan factory since he could not build airplanes in Germany in the aftermath of the First World War. The seaplane production was successful and led to sales of the civil and military versions to the armed forces of many countries. The metal structure and the characteristic floats made the WAL capable of landing on any water surface. The robust Dornier Wal, which in German means “whale,” was set to become the incomparable protagonist, not only for the aviation industry of the time but for the fortune of the Dornier brand itself. In fact, for its effectiveness and reliability, it became decisive for many now legendary enterprises of flight pioneers, such as the polar mission attempt of Roald Amundsen, the crossing of the Atlantic by von Gronau, and many others. This vehicle was one of the first to open Atlantic passenger and postal routes and a protagonist of excellence in the Dutch East Indies, where it was the most suitable means to patrol, control, and supply hundreds of islands. Over the years, the successful "flying boat" was built by Spain, Holland, Japan, and others, with different engines. However, today there are no more specimens of this historic machine, except for the Plus Ultra model kept at the Lujan Museum in Argentina; while in Friedrichshafen, a 1:1 scale replica of Roald Amundsen's N-25 aircraft was recently reconstructed by the Dornier Museum.