- 21 July 2008 -
Composites on show at Farnborough

COMPOSITES were more visible at this year's Farnborough International Airshow as the aviation industry focuses on improving the performance and fuel efficiency of aircraft.

A major composites recycling project was also announced at the UK show last week.

Greener aviation
The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) held a summit on the future of flying and how to make the industry more sustainable. Composites and other new aircraft materials, plus new aircraft and engine designs, will help the industry meet European targets for reductions in emissions and noise. Alternative fuels, more efficient air traffic management, and carbon offsetting and trading also have an important part to play.

Recycling
Aircraft recycling was a hot topic.

The Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA) is developing industry best practices for the recycling end-of-service aircraft.

Boeing and Alenia Aeronautica announced plans to establish a composite recycling facility in Italy. Karborek, Italy, and ENEA (Italian National Agency for new Technologies Energy and the Environment) are also involved in the project. UK company Milled Carbon Ltd will provide the plant blueprint and recycling processes. (An article about Milled Carbon's recycling concept was published in the July/August issue of Reinforced Plastics.)

New aircraft
Bombardier launched the its new CSeries commercial aircraft family.These 110 and 130-seat  passenger aircraft will feature 70% advanced materials airframe – 46% advanced composites and 24% aluminium lithium. Bombardier’s Belfast, Northern Ireland, facility, will design and manufacture the craft's composite wings.

60 years
Composite materials company Hexcel celebrated its 60th anniversary at the show. The company showcased a number of products for use in aircraft manufacture, including:
• HexPly® M56, an out-of-autoclave prepreg for secondary structures;
•* HexTOOL®, for the production of tooling for aerospace composite parts; and
• Redux® adhesives for metal and composite bonding.

 

Further information about these developments and other composites news from Farnborough will be published in the September issue of Reinforced Plastics.

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