Technical tours a powerful attraction

Aerospace Testing, Design & Manufacturing 2008 is once again organising technical tours for the benefit of visitors to this year's exhibition. The tour destinations are MTU Aero Engine's test facilities in Munich and the Bundeswehr Technical and Airworthiness Centre for Aircraft – the German Airforce's WTD 61 – in Manching.

Held for the first time last year, the tours proved extremely popular and places for this year are already being snapped up quickly. Both offer a limited number of spaces, with up to 120 participants for each.

Leading engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines will host one of the tours around its Munich headquarters to show its test facilities for both military and commercial engines. Visitors will also be able to view the company's module testing for equipment such as compressors as well as holographic and other component testing.

The other technical tour is to WTD 61 where visitors will be greeted by WTD 61's Director MinRat Walter Storz. Delegates will visit the centre's fighter hangar where they will be briefed on FTI and view a live demonstration of the micro-UAV. In the helicopter hangar they will learn about the current rotary wing programmes being carried out there, including viewing the UH-Tiger helicopter. The tour will also take in WTD 61's air control tower and radar room as well as EADS's museum of historic aircraft. A look around the site's Eurofighter production facility will round off the tour.

Places are available for a small booking fee of €30 on a first come, first served basis via www.aerospacetesting.com

Aerospace Testing, Design & Manufacturing spokesman Ian Crawford said: "With around 60 per cent of German aerospace development taking place in and around Munich, the exhibition is ideally placed to offer these technical tours. Visitors benefit enormously from the insights gained from these in-depth tours and we are anticipating that they will be just as popular this year as they were last year."