German aircraft manufacturer, DRA, and sister company 328 Support Services GmbH, have appointed Martin Nüsseler as their joint chief technology officer (CTO). Nüsseler is now responsible for product strategy, technology road map and oversight of the engineering development teams.
“We are delighted to welcome Martin to the technology team, and to the company’s exceptional opportunity to revolutionise aviation with its focus on affordable sustainability,” said Dave Jackson, managing director of DRA.
Nüsseler joins after 17 years with Airbus, the last five of which was spent leading Airbus’s alternative propulsion systems and technologies unit. Prior to that, Nüsseler worked for Fairchild Dornier in the late 1990s.
The engineering development team’s primary focus is on enhancing the D328 platform and delivering its future technology roadmap. The technical mission for the aircraft is based on a commitment for more sustainable short-range regional aviation.
The company has developed a product strategy centred around this vision for the newly designated D328eco. The aircraft is being designed to deliver improvements in operational and maintenance costs, as well as reductions in overall carbon footprint.
The programme, currently in the PDR phase, is focused on the maturity of the new systems and materials required to support the aircraft specification. Entry into service date remains as 2024, as presented last year in Leipzig.
The Regional Aircraft programme continues to be led out of Oberpfaffenhofen airport near Munich, and planning work has commenced on the establishment of the Final Assembly Line at Leipzig Halle Airport.
