During 2021, Flight Structures took over the responsibility of running the monthly Continued Professional Development (CPD) Zoom sessions for New Zealand Aerospace Engineers, as part of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RaeS) New Zealand Division.

These presentations have covered a range of topics with a main focus on subject areas within aviation. The aim of the sessions is to educate the wider NZ Aerospace community on current and future advancements happening within the industry.

Since the start of 2022, we have had a range of different presentations:

• Gary Freedman from Electric Air informed the audience about his Pipistrel Alpha Electro which he recently used to set the record for the first person to fly across New Zealand’s Cook Strait in an electric plane.

• Akesh, a PhD student from RMIT University, shared his research into 3D Printed Aircraft Components and the wide range of uses these will have for aircraft in the future.

• X-Aerodynamics founder, Cameron Garner, explained the process of creating a virtual model of an aircraft that can then be used in simulations to provide accurate data for companies trialing new aircraft designs.

• The potential of using Solar Powered UAVs to capture high resolution, low cost, aerial images on a frequent basis, was explained by Mark Rocket, CEO of Kea Aerospace.

• Colin and Freeman from Aeronavics, a drone company based in Timaru, informed the CPD attendees about their developments in the commercial drone space.

• Seagliders are an exciting potential contender in the future of the New Zealand transport industry. Shah and John from Ocean Flyer presented their case for the REGENT Seagliders that they’re bringing to our shores in 2025.

The CPD sessions are held monthly. The team at Flight Structures are grateful to Hemi who has taken on this role and done an excellent job. If you are interested in attending or presenting at a future CPD session, feel free to email Hemi for more information