Select your language
Prepare your scientific project
Safire is at your side for:
• Selection of the aircraft that complies with your needs
• Integration and certification of your instruments
• Negotiation of flight plans with aeronautical authorities
• Evaluating the campaign costs when preparing a funding proposal
Do you plan an airborne field campaign ? Please
Scientific instruments
Have a look at the list of the SAFIRE own instrumentation.
There are also many instruments belonging to external laboratories and which have already been certified and fitted in our aircraft; if wished, we will get you in touch with the technical managers of the instruments that you would like to use.
SAFIRE aircraft use request form
The expression of interest for the Safire fleet can be found here. Please
Application for access to SAFIRE airborne laboratories
Integration of new equipment on the SAFIRE aircraft
Does your project require installing specific scientific equipment on our aircraft? Let us know as soon as possible as the certification procedures might take several months. The SAFIRE team shares its aeronautical know-how and supports you from the study and design phases.
The aeronautical regulations are strictly observed by SAFIRE and any element installed in the aircraft must be precisely described in a certification file sent to the Aviation Authorities. It is the investigators’ responsibility to supply instruments which are compliant to their description.
Before designing the equipment
Read the instructions available in the document
Instruction for airborne scientific equipment
which presents the regulatory framework, the rules and the procedures to follow to install an instrument on the SAFIRE aircraft.
Between the design / production phases and a finalized version
With the help of Safire, complete the Instrumental Description Form.
This file also called "DDI" specifies the instrument characteristics that are needed for their integration into the aircraft. The DDI enables SAFIRE teams to prepare certification files, cabin layout, electrical study, aircraft centering and, if necessary, to analyze the feasibility of data acquisition by SAFIRE and of a specific data process.
A finalized version must be provided to Safire at the latest 6 months before the first research flight.
When the instrument is delivered to SAFIRE
Provide the
Committing the head of laboratory and the technical manager of the instrument on its conformity to the description which has been made of it.
Data measured on board Safire aircraft
To find out more, visit the SAFIRE+ page, the airborne data web portal.
Persons on board SAFIRE aircraft
Principal investigator must provide Safire at least one month before the first flight the list of persons expected to fly on board SAFIRE aircraft, by filling the following form:
List of additional crewAny non-Safire personnel flying on the Safire aircraft is considered as a temporary crew member need to provide an authorization of the employer and sign a declarative information sheet.
Flight authorization to be fulfilled by employer
Information sheet to be signed before flying on the SAFIRE aircraft
Temporary crew members must have read the safety instructions of the relevant aircraft:
ATR 42 safety instructions
Piper Aztec safety instructions
When publishing a scientific article
Publications using data obtained with the Safire fleet must comply with the Safire editorial guidelines. In particular, acknowledgments should contain the phrase “Airborne data was obtained using the aircraft managed by Safire, the French facility for airborne research, an infrastructure of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Météo-France and the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES)”
How to cite Safire in scientific publications
Download Safire visuals
Our service offer
SAFIRE service offer (in French) describes the services provided by Safire.
