Cost Estimating Relationships (CERS) for Army Helicopter Composite Airframes

The Analysis of Army Advanced Composite Airframe Program (ACAP) indicates that the composite airframe could achieve a 17 percent reduction in cost and a 22 percent reduction in weight while maintaining all of the crashworthiness standards. The more costly composite materials will be offset by a large reduction in manufacturing labor hours. If labor hour savings are realized, composites will provide an airframe capable of reducing weight at a lower cost. Discussion includes the analysis of composite materials, cost trends, manufacturing labor learning curves, technology cost factors, and airframe historical Cost Estimating Relationships (CERs).