An overview of Funding Mechanisms, Technologies, and Governance Models, towards the Realization of European Flying Testbeds

An overview of Funding Mechanisms, Technologies, and Governance Models, towards the Realization of European Flying Testbeds Harry Psihoyos1*, Dionysios Markatos1, Pierluigi Ianneli 2, Lorenzo Pellone 2, Marco Armbrust 3, Andreas Strohmayer 3, Spiros Pantelakis1, & Angelos Filippatos1 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, Greece 2 CIRA Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali, Italy 3 Institut für Flugzeugbau, Universität Stuttgart, Germany *Corresponding author: [email protected] The environmental impact of aviation remains a significant challenge, with longrange aircraft accounting for nearly half of all air transport emissions in 2019 [1]. As the industry strives to cut emissions and minimize its climate footprint by 2050, the urgency for technological transformation grows. Thus, current methods for testing and validating disruptive aircraft designs are required to accelerate innovation and derisk development. Flying testbeds are vital in accelerating aviation innovation by enabling the development and validation of next-generation technologies. They provide real-world testing platforms that reduce the risks associated with implementing novel concepts, effectively bridging the gap between laboratory research and full-scale deployment. In addition, flying testbeds promote collaboration among industry, academia, and regulatory authorities. This study offers a comprehensive overview of flying testbeds, with a primary focus on their funding mechanisms, technologies, and governance models. It examines how regulatory authorities, industry stakeholders, and research institutions collaborate to manage and operate these platforms, ensuring alignment with safety and innovation objectives. Funding approaches, including public grants, private investments, and public-private partnerships, are analysed to highlight effective models. The study also explores how testbeds can transition from publicly funded research tools to self-sustaining infrastructures, identifying successful business models and mechanisms for technology transfer and industry engagement. Complementing this, it reviews the range of technologies tested, from advanced aircraft designs to alternative propulsion systems, and extracts lessons from existing initiatives to address challenges like scalability, regulation, and ecosystem integration. By providing insights into effective governance, funding models, and commercialization strategies, this analysis identifies best practices and key enablers, while ensuring regulatory compliance and long-term viability. The present work supports Europe’s broader ambition to develop innovative flying testbeds, an objective currently being pursued through initiatives such as the EU- funded EXAELIA project [2], which contributes to the development of platforms for testing advanced technologies like hydrogen propulsion and blended-wing-body configurations. References 1. Eurocontrol. (2024). Decarbonising long-haul flights by 2050: Is there a pathway through sustainable aviation fuel use, fleet renewal and green energy upscaling? Eurocontrol. [Online]. Available: https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/eurocontrol-think-paper-22decarbonising-long-haul-flights-2050 2. EXAELIA Consortium, "EU-Project EXAELIA: Torwards flying testbeds for novel long-range aircraft," [Online]. Available: https://exaelia.eu/. [Accessed 28th March 2025]. Acknowledgement The present work is being funded by the European Union under GA No. 101191922. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.