sustainability

It is to be crazy

On days like March 12, 2021, I seethe inside. Shaking my head, I walk through the ENO rooms, sometimes Luna has to "suffer" too - there's no time to sniff around. I am aware that many project proposals are always an attempt. Always a bit dependent on available funds. This also includes setbacks.

For me, rejection notices are usually an incentive to prepare the next project even more intensively. But it is letters like the one from March 12, 2021 that make me angry.  

What is different than usual? 

The first thing to note is the processing time. We submitted our application in mid-2020. The outline has been discussed since February 2020. It was demanding - but many partners managed to keep to the tight time chain between calling and submitting the documents. The result was an application on the topic of "circular economy". Specifically, it was about the recycling of aircraft at the Rothenburg site. My motivation for doing this was the question: Can we check whether the mostly rare materials used in the aircraft can be returned to the cycle. That would be a sensible alternative to parking aircraft that are no longer used in the desert. Organizing that, perhaps thinking bigger here - we wanted to create a basis for this with the proposal we drew up.

After months of waiting there were questions. OK - that's part of it. The partners were still motivated. And again it was time to wait and ask. At the end of the year, the sponsor called a video conference with all partners. Now the process is moving, we thought. But the message was that there was nothing new and that we must continue to be patient.  

All's well that ends well?

The partners from business and research, the airfield and our Henry Poppitz from the ENO have continued. In the meantime, the first pilot plane has arrived, and we are all a little smarter than we were in February 2020. A miracle is happening - our project application is still being processed somewhere. There are more questions - this time with very short time chains. A partner from business explains - 12 months after submitting the project - that he can no longer be there due to the current situation. We promise to find a new partner. We asked for a delay of three weeks in order to be able to approach a potential new competitor. All remaining partners were on hand. But it was no use! The reprieve was not granted to us. Instead, on March 12, we received the final project rejection because "the project as a whole no longer corresponds to the application". A reference to a new call followed. This is where I got emotional. If we actually work in these ways of thinking - then it won't get any easier with the #structural change.  

Nevertheless - we continue to pursue our idea. The vision for the Rothenburg airfield is linked to the creation of jobs. It's worth dealing with setbacks too :)