Case Study
Putting the “ultra” in ultralight
Evektor-Aerotechnik
Top European manufacturer of ultralight aircraft trusts Femap
The name in ultralights
The name Evektor is well known in the world of sport aircraft.With more than 17 years experience and a diverse product portfolio known for exceptional quality, Evektor-Aerotechnik has become a leading European manufacturer of ultralight and small planes. Its portfolio includes the Eurostar, a light aircraft that has been sold to more than 800 pilots in 30 countries worldwide, and the SportStar, the first aircraft on the market to receive the US FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Special Light Sport Aircraft category. The company has recently introduced two new models: the VUT100 Cobra, a four-seat sport trainer and the EV-55 Outback, a twinengine turboprop.
Evektor was founded in 1991 as an engineering firm specializing in aircraft, automotive and consumer goods design. One of its first projects was a small turboprop aircraft, the Ae270, for the company Aero Vodochody. In 1996 Evektor bought a 100 percent stake in the company Aerotechnik CZ. Although Evektor still operates the design side of the business, with heavy emphasis on aerospace and automotive design, the acquisition of Aerotechnik took the company into the aircraft business in a big way.
Largest Czech Femap group
Since 1999, Evektor’s designers have used the Femap® finite element analysis (FEA) pre- and post-processor from Siemens PLM Software in the development of the aircraft. Currently they have eight licenses of Femap, which makes them the largest group of Femap users in the Czech Republic.
Several reasons led to the decision to purchase Femap. One was its excellent price-performance ratio. “Femap’s value cannot be beaten by more expensive pre- and postprocessors,” says Ing. Milan Bureš, structural engineer at Evektor.“Femap really has no competition, and we are completely satisfied with the product’s functionality.”
Bures appreciates the support his company gets from the Femap reseller, Asatte. He also likes the fact that he can communicate directly with the developers of Femap.“The process for giving feedback works very well and because of it, the program has improved greatly in recent years. This is not something you see in the competition,” Bures notes.
Powerful but easy to use
In discussing Femap’s quality, Bures says,“One of its most important advantages is ease of use. For example, you can easily control how you want to view the data in postprocessing. That is one area in which Femap is extremely strong.” Bures adds, “We also appreciate the ability to create user-defined functions in Femap’s application programming interface.These allow us to use the data that Femap processes in other applications.”
Evektor uses the NX® digital product development system from Siemens to create digital models of its aircraft. Between NX and Femap, the company believes it will be able to develop aircraft that satisfy customers well into the future.
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Challenges:
- Remove weight from aircraft designs while ensuring highest safety and quality
Keys To Success:
- Easy-to-use FEA pre- and postprocessor
Results:
- Special airworthiness award
- New models that impress the industry
Industry:
- Aerospace & Defense
Client's Primary Business:
Evektor-Aerotechnik is a major civil aircraft producer in the Czech Republic.
Business Initiatives:
- New Product Development
Solutions/Services:
- Femap
- NX Nastran SDK
Client Location:
Kunovice
Czech Republic
"Femap really has no competition."
Milan Bureš
Structural Engineer
Evektor-Aerotechnik