At the 73rd Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress (DLRK), held from 30 September to 2 October 2024 in Hamburg, the aerospace modeling community celebrated a major achievement: 20 years of CPACS (Common Parametric Aircraft Configuration Schema). This anniversary marked two decades of progress in advancing standardized, parametric design approaches for complex air transportation systems.
From Concept to Standard in Aerospace
The CPACS initiative began in 2004 in response to the growing need for a common language between the various disciplines, experts and models in involved in collaborative aviation research. What started as exploratory discussions within DLR matured into the TIVA project, which laid the foundation for the CPACS Design System as we know it today - a common language with the supporting libraries TiXI and TiGL, and the model integration environment RCE, enabling multidisciplinary, collaborative design across academia, research institutions and industry.
Anniversary Highlights at DLRK
To commemorate this milestone, DLRK 2024 hosted a special session titled “20 Years of CPACS”, bringing together contributors, users, and newcomers for a reflective and forward-thinking look at CPACS's evolution.
- The session opened with an overview presentation tracing the development of CPACS from its inception to its current role in research and industry, and outlined a roadmap for future enhancements.
- This was followed by three technical talks demonstrating real-world applications:
- Application of CPACS in Military Aircraft Design: Showcasing how CPACS is used in the design military aircraft concepts.
- Introduction of a system definition for the CPACS data schema: Expanding the schema to include detailed system-level modeling.
- Using CPACS for the multidisciplinary design and assessment of future aircraft concepts: Illustrating how CPACS is used in large-scale scenario modeling at airport and air transport system level.
Broad Participation and Insightful Dialogue
CPACS also featured prominently in several other conference sessions, covering topics such as knowledge-based engineering and custom geometry parametrization (download) or digital twin of the ISTAR research aircraft (download). These presentations reinforced the schema's growing relevance across disciplines and industries.
The event provided a valuable opportunity to engage with both new and experienced users — fostering collaboration, collecting feedback, and aligning on priorities for future development.
Looking Forward
As CPACS enters its third decade, the community continues to expand—driven by a shared commitment to open standards, interoperability, and sustainable engineering. The anniversary session at DLRK was more than a celebration; it was a clear signal of momentum and purpose for the years ahead.
Stay connected for the latest developments and find out how you can contribute to shaping the future of CPACS.