How many years until EASA/ LSA approves this?

[Hireandhire]

BBC Focus mag reports

"Elsewhere, aerospace engineers at the University of Bristol are mimicking the healing processes found in nature to create aircraft that mend themselves automatically during flight. Similar to how a scab stops bleeding, a hardening epoxy resin is released from embedded capsules to seal any crack and restore the plane’s structural integrity. The researchers are also working with an aerospace composite manufacturer to develop a system where the healing agent moves around the plane as part of an integrated network. In the future, self-healing spacecraft could allow humans to spend much longer periods of time exploring far-flung planets."

source - Back to nature | BBC Focus Magazine (http://www.bbcfocusmagazine.com/feature/tech/back-nature)

Wouldn't you just love to be in the design review where that gets proposed!

[IO540]

It would be fine under pilot maintenance privileges. He's allowed to do cosmetic repairs.

:)

[Hireandhire]

But can you just imagine the regulatory frenzy that EASA would whip themselves into?

They'd have to have specifications for the resins, specs for permitted defect sizes, specs to inspect the resin capsules at regular intervals to see if they had leaked, special inspection instruments, special inspectors, ...why...they could turn this into a whole industry.

They'll get so excited they will have to go and have a lie down. Especially if it's a deregulated microlight design.

regards
HnH

[Maoraigh1]

If airframe is cracking, I'd prefer to see it, rather than have it concealed until eventually the self-heal runs out, and the part breaks. Cracks, eg on Pa28 wing skin, can be evidence of severe structural damage due to eg heavy landings. I would not trust that the internal damage had successfully healed to full strength.