VECTOFLOW GMBH

Their core work

Vectoflow is a German aerospace instrumentation SME that designs and manufactures sensor systems for aerodynamic measurement in flight tests and wind tunnel experiments. Their core product focus is capturing pressure, velocity, and flow characteristics on aircraft surfaces during real flight and ground test conditions — the kind of data that validates aerodynamic models and certifies aircraft performance. In the SMART-FTI project, they led development of a modular surface-mounted instrumentation system designed for rapid deployment on test aircraft, reducing test campaign setup time. More recently, they expanded into aeroacoustics by contributing to AEROMIC, a project developing MEMS-based digital microphone arrays capable of capturing noise signatures in both closed and open wind tunnel sections.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Vectoflow's early H2020 work (SMART-FTI, from 2020) was squarely focused on the mechanical and fluidic side of aerospace testing — pressure taps, velocity probes, and flow characterization mounted on aircraft surfaces for rapid instrumentation campaigns. Their second project (AEROMIC, from 2021) marks a deliberate expansion into the acoustic dimension of aerodynamics, bringing in MEMS fabrication knowledge and microphone array signal processing. The shift is coherent: both domains serve the same wind tunnel and flight test environments, and combining flow and acoustic measurement in one capability set makes Vectoflow a more complete aero-sensing partner.

Vectoflow is building toward full-spectrum aerodynamic sensing — covering both fluidic (pressure, velocity) and acoustic phenomena — which positions them for growing demand in aircraft noise certification and urban air mobility testing programs.

How they like to work

Vectoflow is willing to lead: they coordinated SMART-FTI, the larger and more complex of their two projects, suggesting they have project management and reporting capability beyond pure technical contribution. Their consortia are small — 7 unique partners across 2 projects — which reflects the niche nature of aerospace instrumentation work, where tight specialist teams outperform broad networks. As a participant in AEROMIC, they played a focused technical role, indicating flexibility to operate either as a project anchor or as a specialist contributor depending on the problem.

Vectoflow has collaborated with 7 unique partners across 6 countries, a compact but internationally spread network typical of specialist aerospace SMEs working within Clean Sky / JTI ecosystems. No single dominant geography emerges beyond Germany as home base.

What sets them apart

Vectoflow occupies a rare niche: a hardware-focused SME that bridges precision aerodynamic measurement and emerging aeroacoustic sensing for aerospace test programs — a combination that most larger suppliers handle only partially and most academic labs cannot productionize. Their location in Gilching, within Germany's Munich aerospace corridor, gives them direct proximity to Airbus, IABG, and DLR testing infrastructure. For a consortium needing a partner who can deliver instrumentation hardware AND lead an innovation action, Vectoflow's track record as both coordinator and specialist contributor makes them an unusually versatile small company.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SMART-FTI
  Vectoflow's largest project (€441K) and only coordinator role — a Clean Sky 2 Innovation Action developing modular, rapidly deployable surface instrumentation for flight test campaigns, demonstrating both technical leadership and project management capability.
• AEROMIC
  Signals a strategic pivot into MEMS-based aeroacoustics, combining piezoelectric and piezoresistive microphone technologies into arrays for wind tunnel and in-flight noise characterization — a high-demand capability for aircraft noise certification.