Advanced Materials in Future Aircraft Design

Abstract

As Professor Joad used to say — “It all depends what you mean by…” In this instance it all depends what you mean by future aircraft designs. There are many parameters which must be examined when choosing materials for any specific project, these involve material and manufacturing costs, aircraft performance, material performance and costs to the user such as damage tolerance, maintenance costs etc. The way in which these parameters are interwoven will depend considerably on the type of project being undertaken. A light aircraft for the Tiger Club would require a different mix of criteria to an advanced combat aircraft for the RAF. These in turn would be different from the selection that would be made for a one‐shot vehicle such as a booster rocket. In order to narrow this field we will concentrate on the type of aircraft which is typical of Kingston designs, the small high performance aircraft for use by the Air Forces of the world.

Citation

Dabbs, R.G. (1975), "Advanced Materials in Future Aircraft Design", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 21-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb035215