Smart_Plan

✈️ We’ve seen the aircraft of the future… but WHO WILL BUILD THEM?

My latest video explores how apprentices, engineers and technicians develop the skills to turn ambitious aircraft concepts into reality.

From classroom lessons to radar trainers, precision manufacturing and aircraft assembly, discover why hands-on experience matters—and how colleges and employers help prepare the next generation.

Featuring Didactic Services, with contributions from Ford Aerospace and Cross Manufacturing.

🎥 Watch “Who Will Build the Next Generation of Aircraft?”

🔧 If you could work on one part of a new aircraft, what would you choose: engines, wings, electronics or flight controls? Tell me below!

#AerospaceEngineering #FutureOfAviation #Apprenticeships

3 days ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

🚗 Was this 1930s Citroën decades ahead of its time?

The Citroën Traction Avant brought together front-wheel drive, unitary body construction, rack-and-pinion steering and exceptional comfort long before these features became normal.

At the British Motor Show, I met John and explored his beautiful 1952 Slough-built Citroën Light 15. He doesn’t keep it hidden in a garage either—he regularly drives it to rallies in Britain and France, including an 800-mile journey this year!

Watch the full video to discover the engineering, history and owner story behind this remarkable classic:

Which classic Citroën would you choose: Traction Avant, 2CV, DS, SM—or something else?

#Citroen #TractionAvant #ClassicCars

3 days ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

✈️ Most aircraft start with an airframe—and then find an engine.

EDePro did the opposite.

The Serbian company built a working turboprop, the TPE-200. Now it needs an aircraft to carry it.

In my latest video, filmed at Farnborough International Airshow, we look inside this compact free-turbine engine and explore:

⚙️ How the engine works
🔄 Its free-turbine configuration
🛩️ Potential UAV and light-aircraft applications
🧪 The journey from ground testing to flight
✅ The demanding path towards civil certification

Could the TPE-200 power an experimental aircraft, UAV or light helicopter?

Then tell me in the comments: What aircraft would you put this engine in?

#EDePro #Turboprop #AerospaceEngineering

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

🔧 How well do you really understand systems engineering?

My new video brings together 14 essential concepts every engineer should know—explained clearly and practically in one complete introduction.

Topics include:

✅ Writing better requirements
✅ Derived and negative requirements
✅ Verification vs validation
✅ Agile and Waterfall development
✅ Test specifications
✅ Form, fit and function
✅ DO-178C and ED-202B
✅ Dormant failures and MTBF
✅ Engineering lifecycles, milestones and baselines

Whether you’re an engineering student, practising engineer, project manager or simply interested in how complex systems are developed, this video is designed to strengthen your systems thinking.

Which systems engineering concept causes the most confusion in your workplace? Let me know in the comments.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

✈️ Could an aircraft really fly for MONTHS without refuelling?

High above conventional aircraft—and most of the weather—solar-powered HAPS could provide communications, environmental monitoring and Earth observation without launching a satellite.

But making this possible requires an electric motor that is exceptionally light, efficient and reliable.

In my latest Farnborough interview, PMW Dynamics explains the propulsion engineering behind these extraordinary stratospheric aircraft—and why designing the motor cannot be separated from the aircraft, energy system and propeller.

Would you trust a solar aircraft to remain airborne for months at a time?

#HAPS #SolarAircraft #PMWDynamics #AerospaceEngineering #FarnboroughAirshow

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

⚡ ELECTRIC… TO ANTARCTICA?! ❄️

A modified Nissan Ariya travelled from the magnetic North Pole to the South Pole—crossing the Americas and operating in temperatures as low as –39°C.

At the British Motor Show, I spoke with expedition co-founder Chris Ramsey about this extraordinary journey.

In the new mini-documentary, discover:

🔋 How they charged an EV beyond the public charging network
🚙 The modifications that transformed the Ariya
🌎 Why the Darién Gap forced them to ship the car
✈️ How it reached Antarctica
☀️ How solar panels, a wind turbine and generator supported polar charging
🧊 What extreme cold does to an EV’s battery and range

This is an incredible engineering and logistics story that deserves far more attention.

Would you trust an electric car at –39°C?

#NissanAriya #PoleToPole #ElectricVehicle #Antarctica

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

✈️ Are batteries simply too heavy for the future of electric flight?

At Farnborough International Airshow 2026, I spoke with Dr Chris Dudfield, Chief Technology Officer at Intelligent Energy, about how hydrogen fuel cells could transform aviation.

We explore:

🔋 Fuel cells versus batteries
🚁 Longer-endurance hydrogen drones
💧 How fuel cells produce electricity and water
⚙️ Storage, cooling and aircraft-integration challenges
✈️ Scaling the technology for eVTOLs and regional aircraft

Could hydrogen be the missing link for practical zero-emission flight?

🎥 Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/tafwOO5uQbo

Let me know in the comments: would you trust a hydrogen-powered aircraft?

#HydrogenAviation #FuelCells #FarnboroughAirshow

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

🏁 **THE REAL GT40s THAT BEAT FERRARI!**

At Goodwood, I filmed the three original Ford GT40 Mk IIs that completed the legendary **1–2–3 finish at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans**—reunited and running together 60 years later.

I then met the **GT40 Enthusiasts Club** at the British Motor Show to discover how owners are keeping the GT40 story alive on roads, racetracks and hill climbs today.

From the controversial Ken Miles finish recreated in *Ford v Ferrari* to a road-going GT40 with approximately **39,000 miles**, this video brings together the history, the movie connection and the people still driving these incredible machines.

🎬 **Watch the full video here:**
https://youtu.be/IIdAxre7nL8

Which would you choose: **Gulf-liveried Mk I or seven-litre Mk II?**

#FordGT40 #LeMans #FordVsFerrari #Goodwood #BritishMotorShow

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

🚁 Is this the aircraft that will redefine the Black Hawk mission?

The Bell MV-75 Cheyenne is being developed for the U.S. Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft programme—and at Farnborough International Airshow 2026, I had the opportunity to speak with Frank Lazzara, Bell's Director of Sales & Strategy – FLRAA.

But the really interesting story isn't just the tiltrotor configuration.

In my latest video, we take an engineering deep dive into:

⚙️ MOSA – why open architecture could transform future military aircraft upgrades
🎮 Digital fly-by-wire – managing the transition from helicopter to airplane flight
💻 Systems integration – moving away from tightly coupled, federated architectures
🚁 Lessons learned from the V-280 Valor
🔋 Where propulsion, batteries, materials and military aviation could go next

Because of the challenging audio environment at Farnborough, I've combined the best parts of my conversation with Frank with additional technical explanations, graphics and MV-75 footage to create something a little different from a conventional interview.

What interests you most about the MV-75—its tiltrotor performance, MOSA architecture, or fly-by-wire technology?

#MV75 #BellMV75 #FLRAA #Tiltrotor #MilitaryAviation #AerospaceEngineering #FarnboroughAirshow #SystemsEngineering #ApexofAviation

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Smart_Plan

✈️ THIS PLANE HAS NO ENGINE!

No motor. No batteries. Just pedal power. 🚴✈️

At Farnborough International Airshow 2026, I met James Denton from the University of Southampton Human Powered Aircraft team to discover how you build an aircraft when the pilot is also the engine.

And the numbers are incredible:

🔹 23-metre wingspan
🔹 Only 36 kg
🔹 Powered entirely by the pilot
🔹 Future plans for a 32-metre wing
🔹 Ultimate goal: a human-powered crossing of the English Channel!

This is aerospace engineering stripped back to the fundamentals: lift, drag, weight, structures and efficiency—with only human muscle providing the power.

🎥 The full interview is LIVE NOW:
This Plane Has NO ENGINE! ✈️ Human-Powered Flight at Farnborough 2026

Would YOU volunteer to be the pilot? 😂

#HumanPoweredFlight #AerospaceEngineering #FarnboroughAirshow #AircraftEngineering #ApexofAviation #FIA2026

1 month ago | [YT] | 0