On the merits the objectives are the same

Established in July last in the wake of the Grenelle of the environment, the Council for Civil Aeronautics Research (Corac) held its first seminar yesterday in Paris, before a gathering of representatives of the aerospace. Chaired by Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus, it must identify the technologies needed to ensure that the airline takes its commitments. A whether a reduction of 50 of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, of 80 of the emissions of nitric oxide and 50 of the noise perceived by 2020. Behind the goal of sustainable development are emerging future technology choices for the successor of the A320 to this horizon and, more generally, the future of French aeronautics.

What is the role of the Corac and when will you submit your proposals

We will give our report to the Minister during the month of May. Our mission is to propose a technology roadmap for the next ten years, but also to coordinate its implementation between the various actors in the sector. It is the first time that all the actors of the transport air the major donors of order, aircraft manufacturers and equipment suppliers, users, airlines and airports, research centres and departments engage in coordinated action by this magnitude. This was to help the French aircraft industry to make the right technological choices which depends on its future. The challenge is enormous. This area is, with the pharmacy, which invests more in research and development. But it is also one industrial cycles are the longest. A new program of aircraft such as the A350 represents an investment of 10 billion. And six and a half years of development! To launch the successor of the A320 in 2020, we must therefore validate major technological choices as early as 2013.

The seminar is referred to discrepancies between the airlines and aircraft manufacturers...

On the merits, the objectives are the same. Companies such as aircraft manufacturers want less greedy aircraft fuel, less polluting and less noisy. The differences relate to the calendar. Is it an aircraft that uses 10 less, but coming soon on the market, or is it better to wait a few more years for a consumption of 20 to 25 gain Here again, we see more clearly on the horizon 2012-2013.

The engine manufacturers announce new engines offering 15 gain in use as early as 2016. Could they not be adapted to the current moyens-courriers

The re-engining of the existing equipment is a runway, but this is not the most promising. What matters is first to achieve a better integration of the engine in the overall architecture of the aircraft. But the questions are also on the choice of materials, composite or metal new, on the development of the electric aircraft, or the integration of the aircraft in a modern system of air traffic management. Moreover, the experience of the A350 confirmed that an entirely new device, although later on the market, can take 50 of market share, while a simple evolution, as it was the first version of the A350, was probably not exceeded 30.