A new airplane at ISAE-SUPAERO to improve aviation safety

The ninth airplane in the Institute’s fleet

Alongside the light aircraft that the establishment owns – the TB20, Robin DR 400 and Aquila – our latest acquisition, the Vulcanair P68 Observer, will be equipped with on-board and ground instruments that will enable ISAE-SUPAERO and its students to develop in-flight experiments with new concepts in man-system interactions or for remote crews to pilot drones.

Equipped with advanced autopilot functions and GNSS navigation capacities, the plane will have synchronized test equipment with crew monitoring sensors (eye-tracking, neurophysiological helmets and cardiac measurement devices). It will thus be possible to track pilots’ eye movements and to measure their brain activity in order to better understand their performances. Equipped with a glass cockpit and a ventral compartment, the plane will also be able to embark experimental sensors to measure the environment.

Patrons and alumni together for innovation and scientific outreach

ISAE-SUPAERO’s acquisition of a Vulcanair P68 Observer led to a sponsorship agreement’s being signed between Zodiac Data Systems, the School and its Foundation. This partnership symbolizes their shared ambition for developing aerospace engineering.

Through this sponsorship agreement, Zodiac Data Systems, the Zodiac Aerospace Group’s Business Line and world leader in on-board and ground telemetry and instrumentation, has agreed to provide a complete telemetry system to equip the Vulcanair P68 Observer’s cockpit, from on-board data acquisition to ground visualization.

For its part, the ISAE-SUPAERO Foundation mobilized SUPAERO 82 alumni for the School’s first Classgift. Their close involvement through an exceptional donation of €90,000 was a contribution that covered 14% of the aircraft’s purchase price.