The big boys go for plastic

While it is true that the latest developments in advanced alloy manufacturing techniques can deliver structures and components that meet all the product requirements that aerospace primes need for new aircraft, there can be no escaping the fact that there is now an unstoppable momentum building up for the plastic airplane.

COMPOSITES HAVE BEEN AROUND for many decades, but the promise of lighter and stronger structures has taken far longer to translate into significant mainstream civil aircraft production, beyond the general aviation, business jet, and defense communities.