The Optimised Life for Landing Gear Assembly (OLLGA) project brings together top-rated academics with the landing gear world-leading manufacturer to work on a step change in the way landing gear is utilised operationally. Safran Landing Systems, the universities of Sheffield, Cranfield and Bristol will define and demonstrate how the remaining useful life of a landing gear can be adapted to its usage. Existing aircraft data will be enhanced with state-of-the-art AI technology to provide the required input to an adaptive fatigue computation model. This project will consolidate the UK as a centre of excellence in landing gear structural heath management.

ALG will develop and combine new designs, methodologies and technologies to accelerate and catalyse benefits for current and next generation of landing gears. A streamlined and rationalised product and assembly process will be developed alongside the MTC, SMI and Sheffield University. Design methodologies and certification approaches with Bristol and Cranfield University. Innovative technology, such as Electron Beam Welding working with TWI and Birmingham University, additive manufacturing with Industrial suppliers, and super lightweight MMC structures with TISICS. Technologies will be incorporated into a 'FLAGSHIP' physical demonstration that will allow our internal and external customers, and industry to understand the art of the possible.

The Large Landing Gear of the Future project will develop, mature and demonstrate key technologies that will improve the efficiency of aircraft landing gears in their design, manufacture, operation and cost of ownership. It will take a holistic view of the landing gear system construction and life cycle seeking to benefit from closer integration of key components and functions that have historically been addressed separately. The project will use technology demonstrators representative of an operational landing gear to validate the project outcomes. Messier-Dowty Ltd will lead a strong consortium of partners and subcontractors drawn from UK industry, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centres and academia to deliver the project.

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty has partnered with The Technology Partnership, the University of Sheffield and the University of Cambridge to conduct a research project into health and usage monitoring for aircraft landing gears. The project aims to demonstrate how usage data can be captured and stored for a landing gear, how the real life experienced by a landing gear compares with the design assumptions, how life experience impacts on the health state of the landing gear and how that life data can be tracked using identity tagging technology. The project will also investigate self-learning mathematical modelling techniques that can reliably predict the loads on a landing gear using aircraft flight data with minimal additional sensors. The motivation for the project is for MBD to be able to offer its customers additional services that will reduce unscheduled maintenance of landing gears, increase airline operational efficiency and enhance the design of future landing gears. The collaboration between world leaders in their industrial fields and teams at the cutting edge of academic research is expected to result in increased jobs and business in the UK aerospace industry together with further reinforcement of the UK as a centre of excellence for innovation.

This consortium will develop manufacturing technologies to challenge the current state of the art manufacturing system for complex landing gear components to achieve Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL6). Funding opportunity with the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) is allowing developing technologies with partners (Academia or other industrials) to keep our competitive edge in the difficult to manufacture materials. MBD is the leader in the design, manufacture and testing of Landing Gears product. By working together with the UK Advanced Manufacturing research centres (AMRC and The MTC), the consortium will provide a powerful team to deliver challenging innovation to benefits UK Aerospace industry.