Newsletter 2025-05

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AERONAUTICS

Positive Aviation chooses Multiplast for FF72 floats

To replace the Canadair water bomber aircraft used to fight forest fires, French aircraft manufacturer Positive Aviation has launched the FF72 project, which involves modifying ATR 72s to fit them with floats manufactured by Multiplast. We take a closer look at this 72innovative approach.

© Positive Aviation

Positive Aviation is a young Toulouse-based company with around twenty employees, founded in 2024 by former Airbus engineers and managers, whose ambition, based on the premise that “the iconic Canadair Super Scooper, a pillar of aerial firefighting, no longer meets the reliability and availability standards required today”, is to “offer as early as 2028 an alternative – a new, modern, reliable and efficient amphibious water scooper firefighter aircraft – the FF72.”

Chairman and CEO Laurent Schmitt explains: “Since building a new Canadair is an absolutely colossal challenge, Positive Aviation's idea was to take an existing aircraft, in this case the ATR 72, and transform it to give it Canadair capabilities.” In concrete terms, the ambition is to develop “an aircraft that operates from airfields, has the capacity to come in contact with water and, while maintaining its speed, fill water tanks, before dropping 8 tonnes of water (compared with 6.14 for a Canadair) in 1 second through hatches under the fuselage, which makes it possible to extinguish the fire both by the blast and by the quantity of water dropped.”

Positive Aviation's solution is much less expensive, since the FF72 is estimated to cost half as much to buy as a Canadair - around 35 million euros compared with 60 to 80. “Above all, we'll be able to use it two or three times more, thanks to its ability to be projected over a wider geographical area,” continues Laurent Schmitt. As it is built on the basis of a modern aircraft, it will be much more reliable and will have the capacity to operate in summer in the northern hemisphere and in winter in the southern hemisphere.”

The great originality of the FF72, but also the main technical challenge faced by its builder, is the addition of two large 17-meter-long floats (weighing 1.2 tons), similar to those on a racing trimaran, which enable scooping. “The challenge is to manufacture floats that fill the tanks at 180 km/h! confirms the CEO of Positive Aviation. It's really a meeting of two worlds, and that's why we chose Multiplast to produce them. They have both the design knowledge and complete mastery of the industrial process for manufacturing this type of highly complex composite part. The plan is to buy second-hand ATR 72s and prepare them while Multiplast makes the floats, which will be delivered by road from Vannes to Toulouse-Blagnac, the assembly site.”

For Damien Harlé, co-director of the Carboman Group, this order is perfectly in line with the direction Multiplast has been taking for many years: “While ocean racing remains part of the company's DNA, over the last twenty years we have embarked on a policy of diversification, notably into aeronautics. The marriage of these two worlds is a perfect match for the FF72's requirements.” He continues: “In fact, we're finding ourselves dealing with subjects we're used to dealing with on our nautical projects, in particular the slamming, mass and rigidity phenomena we're confronted with on Imoca boats.”

“Design studies and tooling production should start in the third quarter”, continues Damien Harlé, with delivery of the first demonstrator, called FF72-X1, scheduled for 18 months from now, and aeronautical certification in 2028. Series production can then begin: “The aim is to deliver twelve aircrafts a year from 2030 onwards”, explains Laurent Schmitt, who is delighted to have already signed an initial order with the American company Bridger Aerospace.

The latter, a leader in aerial fire-fighting and already owner of 10 Canadairs, “is buying 10 aircraft from us, plus a further 10 as an option, and is the launch customer for the FF72.” For Damien Harlé, “the FF72 is a great and exciting project, with a serial dimension that should enable us to take a step forward in terms of growth.” Multiplast will be present to discuss this and other aeronautical projects at the forthcoming international Paris Air Show ( june 16-22 ).

IN SHORT

• MARITIME TRANSPORT . The first ro-ro cargo ship, Neoliner Origin,designed to transport goods between Saint-Nazaire and the United States, via Halifax and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, was fitted out in April with its two mastsbuilt by the SolidSail Mast Factory (SMAF), which brings together five Breton companies around Chantiers de l'Atlantique: Multiplast, CDK Technologies, Lorima, Avel Robotics and SMM. The boat, now fitted with SolidSail rigid sails, will undergo its first sea trials in June.

• YACHTING. Jacky Setton, a loyal Multiplast customer who has built six boats for him since 2009, including Jaric, a 25-meter fast power craft delivered in February in Sardinia, was awarded the prestigious Legacy Award at the recent World Superyacht Awards (May 2-3 in Venice), in recognition of his contribution to the world of superyachts.

• RACING. Nine crews took part in the 47th Spi Ouest-France Banque Populaire Grand Ouest in the Sun Fast 30 One Design class, the one design racing monohull built by Multiplast and Jeanneau. SL Energies Groupe (Laurent Charmy) won the class ahead of Cap Sela Team Vendée Formation (Robin Marais) and APCC Nantes Centre de formation (Alain Dijoux).

• AERONAUTICS. Turgis et Gaillard tested a wing (manufactured by Multiplast) of the Aarok MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) UAV (see our June 2023 newsletter ).in torsion and bending to failure. The values observed correspond to the predictions of the structural calculations, so the design and manufacture have been validated. The next step is to obtain authorization from the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) for a maiden flight in June.

• CRUISING. Multiplast is preparing to launch and deliver to Nantes the composite platform for the C.69 for the Black Pepper shipyard. This boat is the first fast cruising multihull developed by Michel de Franssu, owner of a shipyard which produced the famous Code 0 and Code 1. Multiplast is also completing four assembly bulkheads for the FC Cube shipyard in Lorient, for futur Nomad VII, a large cruising catamaran (125 feet) designed by Finot-Conq, due to be launched in 2026.

• RACING. Nicomatic-Petit Bateau gets off to a flying start this season! The hydrofoil-powered Mini 6.50 built at Multiplast by the technical team around Caroline Boule and Benoît Marie, won the Plastimo Lorient Mini double-handed in April and the Pornichet Select single-handed in May - with Benoît Marie at the helm, with a solid lead over its rivals on both occasions.

• MARITIME TRANSPORT. Multiplast is currently completing construction of the second of three 1,000 m2 SolidSail sails (composed of 11 composite panels) for the first Orient Express Corinthian, the Accor Group's sailing liner, due to arrive in early 2026. The last sail will be delivered in October.
  
  
• OBITUARY. Jean-Marie Finot, the naval architect who founded the Finot-Conq firm with Pascal Conq in the 1980s, died on April 2 at the age of 83. His story is closely linked to that of Multiplast, since Gilles Ollier had worked for him for several months in Jouy-en-Josas in the late 70s, before setting up his own business and creating Multiplast in 1981. The yard has built three Imoca Finot designs, Generali, Brit Air and DCNS, launched in 2007, and more recently Paprec-Arkéa, designed by Finot-Conq and Antoine Koch. The Multiplast teams send their sincere condolences to Jean-Marie's family and friends.

© DR

OFFSHORE RACING

Guillaume Verdier : "Our challenge: to be lighter AND stronger"

Architect and winner of the last Vendée Globe with Macif Santé Prévoyance, Guillaume Verdier has been entrusted with the design of Kojiro Shiraishi's future DMG Mori, currently under construction at Multiplast. This Imoca yacht is destined to race in The Ocean Race 2027, and must comply with the class's new measurement rules.

How did the meeting with DMG Mori and Kojiro Shiraishi go?

Kojiro recently showed me a photo he'd taken of me at the start of a Vendée Globe, when I was working for the Finot group! So we know each other since the early 2000s, and his team contacted me in early 2024 to see if I'd be interested in working with them on a new Imoca. They were very proud that I accepted, which is strange, they must have thought we were too busy! As a result, they're very enthusiastic, and so we are, because we feel like we're starting from scratch. We started work on the project last June, with Philibert Chenais as project manager and my loyal team: Romaric Neyhousser, Véronique Soulé, Alexis Muratet, and also Loïc Goepfert, who is working on the appendages.

The reference boat, even though she hadn't yet won the Vendée Globe when DMG Mori was first conceived, is Macif Santé Prévoyance?

It's our reference, of course, but the specifications are different because DMG Mori is due to take part in The Ocean Race. So the structural requirements are much higher. And just because the boats didn't break very much in the last Vendée Globe doesn't mean we should let our guard down on that. Our challenge is to be lighter AND stronger! A lot depends on the ramification of the structure and a lot of details! Overall, this new Imoca will be quite different from our previous boats.

What is it about the relationship with a shipyard that determines the success or failure of this kind of project?

Kojiro naturally chose Multiplast, which had already built his previous Imoca. There's mutual trust, and it's much the same between us and the shipyard. For this to work, we have to listen to each other and make our task as easy as possible. For example, to give us more design time, Multiplast built the hull in an unusual sequence, with the hull bottom on one side and the planks on the other. In the end, this also benefited them, as the draping teams obstructed each other less than when everything was done in the same mold. As for us, we try to save weight everywhere, but we make sure we design things that remain constructible!

You're used to saying that you have to pay attention to every detail and that building an Imoca is full of pitfalls. Do you keep an eye on the shipyard’s work?

Not at all! That's a big difference from “normal” architecture, where that's part of the architect's job. Here, it's the yard and the client who, as part of their contract, provide construction supervision with highly specialized people. Our only condition is that the shipyard must carry out test panels before construction begins. We're looking to characterize compression and shear strength in real life, which is what's critical in a racing boat. We also talk a lot with the shipyard about processes, the type of resin used, the right glue films... everyone brings their own experience to the table. After that, as I was saying, our relationship is based on trust; we know that at Multiplast, they wouldn't let anything be grafted on board that hadn't been checked. They have enough experience and rigor to know that the slightest tinkering can have serious consequences.

Can you tell us a little more about the new Imoca rules and the obligation to respect an eco-score?

Yes, we have an Excel sheet which, depending on the materials you use - the carbon modulus, the type of foam... - varies your score. There's a maximum you can't exceed. The formula encourages the pooling of tools, and there's a bit of an intellectual game to be played to achieve what you want, while complying with the rules. For example, we made wooden tooling for the DMG Mori bridge, Multiplast's design office also worked hard to optimize carbon off-cuts... Showing that we can go faster and faster with wind power, while limiting our carbon footprint, is obviously a good message in today's world!

© Wilmotte & Associés

INDUSTRY

Samuel Napoleoni: "The Valberg dome, a triple challenge"

With just a few weeks to go before the installation of the dome at the Maison départementale de l’Environnement (Observatory) in Valberg (Alpes-Maritimes), manufactured by Multiplast, Samuel Napoleoni looks back at the technical aspects of this atypical project, for which he is responsible.

How was Multiplast chosen for this project?

We were chosen because of our experience on a similar project, in this case the construction of the domes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Paris, designed, like this planetarium, by Wilmotte & Associés, but also because of our ability to manage this kind of project and ensure the assembly. Manufacturing a large, non-developable shape in composite is part of our core business. On the other hand, even if a 12-metre petal is equivalent in size to a Class 40, manufacturing 16 of them in 7 months is a long way off in terms of industrialization. In this case, the project is closer to the series of sail panels we produce for Chantiers de l'Atlantique, or the petals we make for Thales flight simulators.

How did you go about producing these unusual pieces?

We made the 16 petals that make up the dome in composite. They're not all identical, but they're very similar. So we sought to optimize cycle times by making the most of the learning coefficient. In this kind of building project, weight is not an issue, the only weight constraint we had was the load limit of the helicopter that will deliver the petals over the last few kilometers, as the tunnels don't allow us to deliver them by road. Polyester infusion, mass production and installation were our three biggest challenges. We received the mold in June 2024, started draping in early September and completed the sixteenth petal in early April 2025. With a continuous team of four people, we managed to produce one petal every 9 working days.

What are the next steps?

This project, which began three years ago, is now complete as far as production is concerned. At the same time, we made large covered frames to transport the petals, as they are gilded with palladium leaf and are therefore very fragile on the surface. The palladium would not withstand the rubbing of straps or branches during transport. The only thing left to do is to install them, as we did for the domes of the Orthodox Church. For this building, it's a little more complex because the support surface isn't flat. What's more, when developed, each petal is 12 metres long by 3.60 metres wide, so handling and transport operations are considerably more complicated. We already have to cross France, and above all, the last 30 kilometers have to be flown by helicopter. Installation is scheduled to start in July, with delivery in August.

VOS CONTACTS PRESSE

MULTIPLAST : Yann Penfornis This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +33 (0)6 12 05 86 97

"If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough"