The world’s aviation industry will descend on the French capital next week for the biennial Paris Air Show – with key Bristol businesses once again demonstrating the city’s strength in the vital aerospace sector.
Major companies such as Rolls-Royce, GKN and Airbus will be demonstrating their innovative made-in-Bristol technology to buyers from governments, airlines and related businesses. 
At the same time a number of smaller firms from the city will set out their stalls to showcase their specialist equipment.
The show, which takes place between Monday and Saturday at Le Bourget Airport on the outskirts of Paris, is the world’s oldest and largest air show.
The last show, in 2013, attracted more than 2,000 exhibitors from 44 countries, 176,000 visitors and 280 official delegators..
For European giant Airbus, which employs around 4,000 people at its massive Filton plant working primarily on wing design, landing gear and fuel systems, Paris is its major showcase. It traditionally signs twice as many orders with airlines for new planes at the show than its US arch-rival Boeing.
But this year it is unlikely to have a bumper crop as its A380 Superjumbo is struggling to gain new sales. It is also facing serious questions over its A400M military transporter aircraft – the wings for which are made at Filton.
Just weeks after an A400M crashed in Spain, killing four of the six crew due to engine failure during a test flight, Airbus has confirmed that huge aircraft will take part in flying displays – performing the same routine that it has been demonstrating at air shows since 2010.
Head of military aircraft Fernando Alonso said: “We have complete confidence in the A400M and we are delighted to fly our demo as planned. We want to share our pride in the aircraft with all the passionate aviators at Le Bourget.”
The Paris Air Show is the event whereby many if not most of the exhibitors hold back their latest creations and most exciting news to announce at the show. In many ways the conferences can be just as entertaining as the flights.
Rolls-Royce, which employs more than 3,000 people making mainly military aero-engines at Patchway, will also be displaying examples of its latest engine technology. In December Rolls-Royce announced it is to invest £18m at Patchway to repair and maintain engines for the Airbus A400M.
GKN, which manufactures Airbus-designed wing parts at Filton and produces innovative carbon-based wing parts at its Severnside base, will be promoting several of its prodicts including wings, fuselage, engine structures, ice protection technology and fuel flotation systems – all focused on lowering costs for airlines while extending aircraft performance and reducing weight and emissions.
Invest Bristol & Bath, the inward investment agency for the West of England, is sending a small delegation to the show.
Its aerospace sector specialist Barry Warburton, who will be in Paris from Monday to Wednesday, said: “The South West’s vibrant aerospace cluster, with Bristol and Bath at its heart, is Europe’s powerhouse for the sector and plays a hugely influential role in the industry nationally and internationally.
“Our presence at Paris Air Show forms part of our strategy to attract further investment into the region and build on its outstanding and far-reaching reputation in aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
“Key areas of expertise in the region include wing design, engines, landing gear, avionics and rotor, plus leading technologies such as composites, robotics and autonomous systems as well as additive layer manufacturing. The cluster is also home to a highly skilled talent pool, a network of innovative suppliers and has 14 world-leading aerospace companies on its doorstep.”
He said the region’s world-class universities and major hubs of aerospace innovation were working with industry leaders to develop cutting-edge technologies that were shaping the future of the sector.
Examples include the National Composites Centre, which is one of seven high-value manufacturing catapult centres in the UK, and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which spearheads Britain’s efforts to be a world leader in modern advanced robotics.
“A gateway to high calibre talent, expertise and facilities, the region’s aerospace cluster is a vital part of its success story to date and for the future, as well as a major contributor to UK plc and to the global aerospace industry,” said Barry
One of the main topics of the show will be ‘real-time monitoring’. This is a growing part of technology that allows engineers to check the performance of all components on board a plane. Sensors and digital robotics have been common features within machinery for over a decade, but in light of the last year and the series of lost aircrafts, a renewed focus has been placed in this area.
One West of England business that will literally be powering the way at Paris is Powervamp. Based in Weston-super-Mare, the firm has been awarded the contract for the fourth time to provide all ground power to the static park at the prestigious air show.
Powervamp managing director Richard Roller said: “There aren’t many shows like this in the world. When you are working at the show the pressure is intense because if the power fails, then it is millions of dollars at stake.
“To be the main provider of ground power is a major coup, not just for us as a company but for British engineering and manufacturing. We’re showcasing our products to the rest of the world at this event, so we are duly proud because not many companies can do what we can.”
Bristol Business News will have full coverage of the Paris Air Show.
