AIRCRAFT built from hefty quantities of carbon-fibre composites rather than aluminium will be taking to the skies in the next two years. The high-tech lightweight materials should help airlines slash their fuel costs, which they see as vital at a time when so many airlines are struggling to make money.
But while there may be a compelling economic case for the new aircraft, composites present a unique set of engineering challenges to designers and certification authorities, who have to pronounce the planes fit to fly. That’s because if composites fail, they do so in a very different way from the…
