Author name: Olaf Blankendaal

NLR X-Lab: frontrunner in augmented reality in MRO aerospace
Data Science and Engineering

05 April 2023

Balanced use of artificial intelligence

Technological development has always been extremely important to the armed forces. Its influence can be seen in weapons, sensor and platform systems, in soldiers’ equipment, in all forms of military actions and within the Defence Ministry’s own organisational operations. The role of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing too. For the Defence Ministry, AI is an […]
Maintenance and Repair

05 April 2023

Better predictions of metal fatigue in engineering structures

Fatigue of metals can cause premature failure of components and structures that are subject to cyclic loading. To avoid that risk, designers still employ a theory from the 1960s. Royal NLR has now come up with a new equation for calculating the growth rate of cracks under cyclic loading better. The proof of this has […]
SFD mission flight Italy - Taranto-Grottaglie Airport
Sustainability and Environment

05 December 2022

Accelerating the development of future aircrafts

Aviation needs to become more sustainable and the requirements for that include innovative aircraft models and alternative means of propulsion. To accelerate those developments, Royal NLR is working with Airbus and the Italian and French knowledge institutes CIRA and ONERA to investigate the potential of scale models that mimic the dynamic movements of full-size aircraft. “We’re […]
TO2 impactrapportage 2022

01 December 2022

The TO2MORROW impact report on applied research

What results does applied research achieve and what is its intended impact? In the annual magazine TO2MORROW, the organisations collaborating in applied research once again describe some of their exceptional pieces of research. What results does applied research achieve and what is its intended impact? In the annual magazine TO2MORROW, the organisations collaborating in applied […]
SFD mission flight Italy - Taranto-Grottaglie Airport
Flight Operations and Certification

23 November 2022

Clean Aviation’s scaled flight demonstrator completes its mission flight tests

Between 17 October and 31 October 2022, the Scaled Flight Demonstrator (SFD) developed in the frame of Clean Aviation made 19 flights for a total of 8 flight hours, taking off from and landing at Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie in Italy. During the missions, about 70 automated manoeuvers have been executed in order to carry out […]
Flight of NLR pipistrel above Rotterdam
Sustainability and Environment

07 November 2022

Demonstrations of electric aircraft on Aruba: “This is the future”

People on Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao may be taking electric planes to hop from island to island in the near future. Aruba is hosting demonstration flights this week by the Pipistrel Velis Electro, Royal NLR’s electrically powered research aircraft. “We’re going to show that electric flight is a clean, efficient and safe alternative to traditional aviation […]
TRANSCEND - SMR-H2
Sustainability and Environment

04 October 2022

Decarbonisation of European aviation under threat, new study finds

A shortage of European feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) will limit European aviation’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2035 onwards. This is one of the main conclusions of a new study by Royal NLR and Delft University of Technology. This shortage means that greenhouse gas emissions will only be 40% lower in 2050 compared […]
Flight Operations and Certification

29 August 2022

First demonstration flights for AMU-LED successful

Drones delivering packages, flying out emergency medical supplies or carrying out inspections of buildings in the city: it sometimes sounds like science fiction, but before drones can genuinely fly through airspace in large numbers, an air traffic control system for unmanned aircraft must be set up. Together with its European project partners, Royal NLR is […]
Air Traffic Management

06 July 2022

Seven demonstrations across Europe of safe integration of unmanned aircraft

In just a few years, urban air mobility will be a reality, letting people travel conveniently in a way more suited to cities and their residents. Integrating these big future drones safely into our urban airspace requires a lot of coordination and a great deal of testing. Within the next few months, the European project […]