Our approach to project design is all-encompassing. We look on the machine as  a homogenous entity in which each element is linked to those surrounding it. The existence of the element, its composition and its function is linked to and justified by the elements which surround it.

In order to illustrate this concept we can take the case of automobile construction, in which the bodywork and the chassis are often designed before choosing and integrating the mechanisation. This sometimes leads to incompatibilities such as a shortage of space in the engine compartment or engine cooling problems.

The logic of our all-encompassing approach is very different and hinges on building the vehicle around the engine and various other factors such as: number of passengers, capacity, weight distribution, mechanisation, etc. It is then that design is taken into account as a way of packaging the technical elements in a coherent and aesthetically pleasing way.

In aeronautics in particular, we build the airframe around the engine in order to optimise aerodynamics and thus also performance. In this way we do not have to contend with worries such as the possibility of surpassing weight specifications. Surpassing weight specifications drags the manufacturer into a tangled web of problems :the heavier mass decreases vehicle performance; therefore the tendency is to increase the engine power (to compensate for the discrepancy) but this will in turn increase the total mass. The airframe, which was not designed to take this excess weight, has to be strengthened. In reinforcing the airframe the mass will necessarily increase again, and the extra engine power will be either partially or totally used up, or in the worst case scenario will decrease the engine's performance so that it is then below that of its original mechanisation. This type of situation constitutes a real failure in vehicle design whether for air, sea or land transport. This type of situation is common and quickly identifiable by the trained eye.

In our approach to design, we take all the restrictions and targets mentioned in the specification manual into account right from the beginning of the project. Nothing is left to chance and we use mathematical and statistical models to calculate the best combinations (e.g.: cost per km per passenger, frontal area per passenger, total wet area Cx/ passenger, total wet area /Kg/cv, Kg/cv/passenger space volume/passenger, etc·).

Thus developed, the project meets the expectations both of the client and of our design department.

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