Michelin’s AirCaptif to double production capacity

Inflatable structure specialist AirCaptif, a Michelin company since late last year, has unveiled a new innovation in partnership with Dassault Aviation. At the same time, Michelin announces that AirCaptif plans to double its production capacity from 2023 and bring new talent into the team.

The innovation facilitates pre-commissioning certification trials for the Dassault Falcon 6X aircraft range, specifically the reliability examination of the aircraft cabin’s lightning resistance. This test, the HIRF for High Intensity Radiated Field, is mandatory for the plane to be compliant with the electromagnetic standards from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and would typically require two weeks of testing for aircraft such as the Falcon 6X. Michelin reports that the revolutionary technology developed by AirCaptif, which verifies the resistance of critical systems (flight commands and calculations) to electromagnetic interference, reduces this time to just three days at a much reduced cost.

The innovation comprises three elements – an eight-metre-high inflatable Faraday cage with a 900 square metre footprint, an inflatable mechanical mixer placed alongside the aircraft to mix the electromagnetic waves, and a system of inflatable coaxial insulation to provide an earth connection for the lightning strike.

The AirCaptif technology has several advantages. With its super light structure, being easily transportable and capable of being installed directly in the aircraft’s assembly hangar, investment costs and trial time are significantly reduced. The speed of installation is a real plus.

Whereas it takes two years to build a conventional Faraday cage, this novel solution is operational in a single day.

Strengthening existing synergies

AirCaptif intends to enlarge its facility in Bourges, France and start industrial production there early in 2024. Bourges is situated midway between AirCaptif’s headquarters site in Trappes and Michelin’s R&D facility in Clermont, Ferrand, and the development of this location thus also marks a further strengthening of existing synergies. With its considerable know-how in aeronautic construction, coupled with experience in the medical and event planning sectors, Michelin states that AirCaptif is “able to propose solutions in a whole panoply of areas.”

As part of its expansion, AirCaptif is budgeting to double its turnover starting in 2023 and to hire some thirty skilled professionals. The company has already created some 50 new jobs in the Trappes region.

“The growth in AirCaptif’s activities is the result of the company’s extraordinary ability to innovate, and the partnership with Dassault is a shining example,” comments Maude Portigliatti, Michelin’s business director, high technology materials. “AirCaptif, with the relevance of its technical solutions, is yet another example of Michelin’s savoir-faire in the use of leading-edge technological innovation and the strategic ambitions of the Group beyond the world of tyres.”