Young Mettis engineers experience tomorrow’s technology at Paris Air Show

Paris Air Show is a great opportunity to see the latest aircraft in action and explore new technologies. This year, the show has a new addition: The Paris Air Lab. It’s a chance to explore new ideas and concepts for the future of the aerospace industry.

Two of our young engineers, Tom Reeves and Felix Skidmore, visited the Air Lab to find out about the latest research and innovations. They’re growing their careers with us at a time we’re investing heavily in future of forging and machining so we were interested to see what they’d make of some of the concepts being explored in the Lab.

During their time there, Tom and Felix took a look at a variety of collaborative projects carried out by a number of companies, industrial groups and start-ups in the aerospace sector. There was a lot to see including virtual reality simulations, concept vehicles, hybrid turbofans, drone deliveries, fuel cells and other sustainable technologies.

Tom is a design apprentice at Mettis Aerospace and is particularly interested in future design concepts, “It’s always great to see new, innovative ideas such as drone technology and cars of the future. It’s a valuable experience as an apprentice. The whole show is vast and has given me a real insight into the competitive side of manufacturing and engineering.”

Felix, who joined Mettis after graduating in Mechanical Engineering, was curious to see how new technologies could impact the aerospace industry as a whole: “Coming to shows like this early in my career is so interesting. It has opened me up to the enormity of the aerospace industry. I’ve got an impression of the variety of companies operating within in the sector and just how much is going into exploring technologies for the future.”