Aircraft manufacturer
An aircraft manufacturer is a company or person that is involved in the manufacture, development and sale of aircraft .
In the past, in many cases they were also manufacturers of aircraft engines , but this is practically no longer the case after the beginning of the age of jet aircraft in the 1950s .
Due to the complexity of modern aircraft, aircraft manufacturers employ highly qualified people. The qualification of the staff extends to the engineering and construction area as well as the mechanical area and the electrical equipment. Software experts are also increasingly necessary to deliver a modern aircraft capable of flying.
Large aircraft manufacturers sometimes employ more than 30,000 people. A whole network of suppliers who deliver components for aircraft construction depends on these manufacturers . The large aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus are outsourcing more and more areas to suppliers and, in the case of new developments, also require their participation in the financial risk.
Otto Lilienthal already manufactured and sold the normal glider he developed . The first commercially successful aircraft manufacturer was Louis Blériot , who was able to sell around 800 machines of his type Blériot XI from 1909.
In the Soviet Union , aircraft manufacturers emerged from OKB ( experimental design offices ), which are named after their chief designer.
German aircraft manufacturers who also had an airline company were, for example, Rumpler Flugzeugwerke GmbH / Rumpler Luftverkehr and Junkers Luftverkehr AG / Junkers Motorenbau and Junkers Flugzeugwerk .
See also
- List of aircraft manufacturers
- plane
- Aircraft construction
- aviation
- List of aircraft types
- List of helicopter types
