Dornier In-Flight Opening Door

The Dornier 328-100 is a fast 30 seat passenger airliner which is used for long range Search and Rescue (SAR) by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. In order to drop life saving equipment to stranded sailors, the aircraft's rear cargo door was modified from the original outwards opening configuration, to open inwards. This allows the door to be opened in flight and a range of stores up to 20 man life rafts to be despatched.

The original door was removed and it's geometry mapped using laser scanning techniques to develop a 3D solid model of the door surrounds. The new inflight opening door was the designed and built by Aeronautical Engineers Australia under our production certificate and the complete kit installed on the aircraft in under 18 months. As part of the project an ergonomic review was conducted and related anchor points and hand holds installed to enable the equipment despatches to perform their job easily and safely. Finally the system was fully integrated into the aircraft warning system to ensure that pilot situational awareness is maintained at all times.

Eagle

The Eagle 150 is a basic two-seat trainer and light touring aircraft developed in Australia. It has a unique stagger-wing layout and all-composite construction. AEA conducted all the engineering work required for certification to JAR-VLA and managed both the structural test program and the flight test program, all of which resulted in the aircraft's being granted a Type Certificate by CASA in September 1993. Eagle Aircraft was established to manufacture and market the aircraft in Australia and in 1999 moved its production facility to Malaysia.

Explorer

The Explorer is a high-performance but rugged utility aircraft that can perform a wide variety of roles at a lower cost than other equivalent aircraft. It was developed to cope with the harsh Australian conditions and unprepared dirt strips but still deliver a 180kt cruise, almost 1000 nm range and economical performance. The aircraft utilises the latest in aerofoil design, a carbon fibre fuselage shell, a unique retractable undercarriage, flat cabin floor, and a newly devised construction method that minimises construction and assembly time. The aircraft was initially developed as the 350R but now incorporates the 500T turbine variant and the stretched 750T.

AEA conceived, designed and developed the Explorer and started Explorer Aircraft Australia Pty Ltd to develop and market the family of aircraft. As the Explorer project grew, this role was passed onto Explorer Aircraft Inc. which is now located in Houston, Texas. If you would like more information on this unquie and exciting aircraft, please visit their website.

Maverick

The Maverick is an unlimited category aerobatic sports aircraft was designed entirely in-house at Aeronautical Engineers Australia led by Graham Swannell and Geoff Danes. The Maverick construction uses an advanced carbon & glass fibre wet layup composite system to give a cost and build time lower than most homebuilt aircraft. It has good cross country capability with a cruise speed of over 160kts and has an inverted oil and fuel system for 3 minutes of inverted flight.

Only one aircraft has been built with its first flight in December 1987 and has since appeared in many airshows around Australia.