Presentation

Chairman's name :

Eric DELETOMBE

Contact email :

hautsdefrance@3af.fr

The creation of the "Hauts de France" Regional Group was formalized by the Board of Directors on December 7, 2017, and ratified at the Annual General Meeting on June 18, 2018.

A word from the Chairman :

As a 3AF member since 2010, and a member of the Structures Commission since the same year, I've been able to get modestly involved, in a professional capacity, in this ambitious associative project. Based in Lille, the idea of creating a Regional Group had been in the back of my mind for several years.I was astonished to learn that there had once been a 3AF "Nord" group. So it was a possibility, and now it's a reality. I would like to thank the President of 3AF, the members of the Board of Directors and my fellow members and friends.

The Hauts-de-France region has a long aeronautical history behind it, a history born of the love and passion of many illustrious pioneers (Charles Nungesser, Louis Blériot, Louis Breguet, Henri Potez, to name but a few). It's this love and passion that we're once again inviting you to share and nurture together, within this 3AF Hauts-de-France Regional Group. And I'm already delighted to announce that I intend to invite our friendly and dynamic Belgian friends and colleagues to join us!

In conclusion, I dedicate this post to the memory of my predecessors, members of 3AF Nord, Jean Gobletz, Marc Pianko, André Fauquet and Joseph Pauriche, whose memory some of my colleagues have kept, and remind me of (thank you Jean-Luc!).

Eric Deletombe
President, Hauts-de-France Group

Our ambition:

• Ensure 3AF's influence in the region covered by the Hauts-de-France RG, which includes Aisne (02), Nord (59), Oise (60), Pas-de-Calais (62) and Somme (80);
• Create a cross-border dynamic, in particular by building links with players in the Belgian aerospace sector;
• Relay 3AF's actions, particularly to companies and institutions, training schools, students, and in general to all current and former aerospace sector employees;
• Design, directly or in partnership with other organizations, regular events for the wider North region, in the form of visits, presentations, exhibitions, etc.

Our fields of action:

• Represent 3AF and lead the network of members locally;
• Promote 3AF regionally to institutions, small and large companies, research centers, schools and universities;
• Recruit new members and promote aerospace careers to students;
• Support our 3AF Youth Committee in its projects;
• Develop cooperation with regional bodies and organizations;
• Communicate with educational players to increase the appeal of careers in the aeronautics and astronautics industry.

Our modes of action:

• To document the life of our Regional Group, of which members will be informed by e-mail and through the publication of a regional newsletter;
• Organize conferences and study days, aimed at a wider audience, to share the state of the art and provide an overview of topics proposed by members;
• Organize regular regional events (conferences, plant tours, ....), to encourage meetings and liven up exchanges between players and enthusiasts in the field;
• To mobilize our members in the various regions, in order to raise their profile.

Our targets:

• Engineers, managers and technicians working for manufacturers, equipment suppliers and subcontractors in the aerospace sector;
• Companies in the same sector;
• Schools and universities and their students interested in the aerospace industry and the various technical and non-technical professions it offers;
• Aerospace enthusiasts.

Our organization:

The Regional Group will be organized around a Chairman and an Executive Committee, who will meet regularly to define the direction and actions to be taken.

Organizers:

Chairman: Eric DELETOMBE

Treasurer: Bertrand LANGRAND

Join us! Contact us by e-mail at hautsdefrance@3af.fr

Meetings

The regional group had few opportunities to meet in 2018 (creation of the RG) and 2019: made up of students, working people and retirees, it proved difficult to find slots that suited everyone. Some of the members nevertheless had the opportunity to meet at various events organized during this period.

Since 2020 and the health crisis, RG meetings have been virtual. They mainly concern the organization of events in the Hauts-de-France region. Hosted by its Chairman whenever possible, there is of course nothing to prevent RG members from meeting elsewhere. For example, the Hauts-de-France Youth Section, set up at the very birth of the Regional Group, has proved particularly active. We have to admit that the widespread use of videoconferencing tools is a step forward that will enable the Regional Group to meet much more easily.

Nevertheless, we'll try to meet in person, if only once a year, when the health crisis is behind us ;-)

Guides

In 2021, 3AF has set up a new website to support its missions and bring the network to life: group presidents and a few active members now have access as webmasters and moderators to the content of the site, for the group(s) that concern(s) them. As a result, it's now possible to easily publish different types of information on the Regional Group pages: news, events, job offers, etc. So don't hesitate to let us know. So don't hesitate to send them to us! We'll do our best to process them quickly...

Partners

The main and natural partner of 3AF (learned society) in the Hauts-de-France region is ONERA (Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales, https://www.onera.fr ), and its Lille Center(https://www.onera.fr/fr/centres/lille ).

The GR 3AF Hauts-de-France is also in regular contact with the regional aerospace industry cluster ALTYTUD(https://www.altytud.fr ), and the Walloon competitiveness cluster SKYWIN(https://www.skywin.be ).

Other key references in the region include the Aér'Hauts-de-France brand(https://www.aer-hautsdefrance.fr ) and its members, whose mission is to support and promote the regional aeronautics industry.

Finally, since 2020, the i-Trans competitiveness cluster(http://i-trans.org ) has included the aeronautical sector in its scope of action.