SGL Carbon plans to begin serial production of landing gear made from braided carbon fiber material early this year. The landing skids will be installed in around 500 air taxis worldwide over the next two years, the company says.
According to SGL, the ultra-light landing skids measure about 2 m in length and 1.5 m in width and weigh less than 3 kg, around 15% lighter than a similar component made from aluminum.
‘With our landing gear we help to shape this very new, promising application of manned, autonomous civil aviation,’ said Dr Andreas Erber, head of aerospace at SGL Carbon.
This is reportedly the company’s first component project for manned autonomous aviation.
This story uses material from SGL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
