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Speaking of future aircraft - what's interesting to me is they do not seem to be planning on any more composite barrel aircraft after the 87. Even 777x is only
by gp 4y ago
Speaking of future aircraft - what's interesting to me is they do not seem to be planning on any more composite barrel aircraft after the 87. Even 777x is only graphite wings, no graphite barrel, which seemed to me like the natural next step. I wonder if it is manufacturing capability related, or if they regret the amount of R&D it took to get the 87 barrel to viability, or some other reason?
The A350 has composite panels and one barrel component iirc, which is a step above what the 777x is doing.
I know BA had a Next Generation Aircraft project looking at a fully composite 737 replacement, but that didn't proceed anywhere either. The braced wing design is pretty wild, but at least they will have plenty of room to make the engines larger...
- adgjlsfhk1 4y agoI think there are a few things behind this: 1. price. Carbon fiber is a lot more expensive than aluminum 2. The wings are the parts that need the most strength, and where the flexibility of design helps the most. 3. Making a giant tube of aluminum is a lot easier than with carbon fiber, but the complex shape of a wing evens the cost more 4. Carbon fiber advantages shrink with larger aircraft since making the ovens for really big carbon fiber parts is ridiculously expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if smaller planes go to all carbon fiber before bigger ones.