Back Shop: Aviation Today

Composites represent the most important improvement in aircraft construction since the introduction of aluminum in the 1920s. The adoption of these "miracle materials" is sweeping all sectors of aviation, but the industry is still grappling with how this historic trend will transform traditional ways of doing business.

All-composite aircraft such as Boeing’s next-generation 787 Dreamliner are in the vanguard of aviation innovation. However, complicating this rosy picture are emerging safety concerns, such as the prospect of faster and more toxic fires in any accident that involves composites. Air safety experts are sounding the alarm and prompting a belated reappraisal of composites, warning of their unintended consequences.

The growing controversy over the safety of composites will be front and center during a new webinar: "Aircraft Composites: How New Materials are Forever Changing Aviation," scheduled for Thursday, November 15, 11 a.m. — 12 p.m. (EDT) and sponsored by the Web site, Aviation Today. After the webinar’s initial live broadcast, a recorded version of the event will be accessible on-demand at www.AviationToday.com.

Speakers will include Joy Finnegan, editor-in-chief, Aviation Maintenance magazine; Ramon Lopez, editor-in-chief of the weekly newsletter Air Safety Week; and Hans Weber, president and owner of TECOP International Ltd., a San Diego-based aviation consulting firm.

As a loyal reader of this monthly magazine, you’re already familiar with the aviation bona fides of Joy Finnegan. Ramon Lopez has more than 30 years of experience as an aerospace and defense journalist, editor and manager for daily, weekly, monthly and bimonthly international publications. He now edits the electronic newsletter Air Safety Week, an award-winning title that’s widely recognized as the source for aviation safety information. Air Safety Week is hosted on Aviation Today, where it is available for subscription.

Mr. Weber has 40 years of experience in the technology and aviation fields, as both a consultant and as a senior executive. He is a renowned and sought-after expert in the application of advanced technology to the aerospace and airline industries. His clients include airlines, airports, manufacturers, regulatory agencies and industry trade groups in the United States and Europe.

These speakers will explore how composites are affecting the daily realities and bottom lines of aviation companies in all niches. Composites are making it possible to create new aircraft that are lighter, faster and more efficient, opening up new uses and competitive opportunities. But as they contemplate composites, many aviation insiders are unsure what the future holds.

This timely and informative webinar will examine how composites are transforming conventional manufacturing; the competitive advantages of composites; how composites will affect the MRO field; and why Boeing has embraced these materials at this record level for its commercial aircraft.

In particular, this webinar will shine a spotlight on the unforeseen hazards of composites. Air accident investigators already are discovering that all epoxies generate toxic smoke when burned and that burning composites (e.g., carbon, Kevlar and fiberglass) emit fibers into the air.

In a related vein, the webinar will look at how composites are bound to affect the MRO status quo. Maintenance professionals are learning, for instance, that bare carbon mounted against bare aluminum results in galvanic corrosion. What does the increasing prevalence of composites mean for mechanics and MRO procedures?

Boeing’s radical new flagship, the 787 Dreamliner, will be composed of more non-metals than ever before in the primary structure of an airplane that carries 200-plus passengers. Reduced overall weight, improved fuel efficiency, longer lifetime relative to fatigue performance, corrosion resistance, reduced part count — composites clearly offer significant performance benefits.

Boeing has extensively embraced these materials for its commercial aircraft, a vote of confidence from a bellwether OEM that will exert a domino affect among all aircraft makers. But how should mechanics get ready for composites in general and the 787 in particular? Do they have the tools and training that they need? Do they have anything to fear in this new regimen?

Through well-informed inquiry alloyed with healthy skepticism, aviation professionals can face our composite-dominated future head on.