Mind you, the following is just rumor talk: An aerodynamicist who used to work for the company once told me that when Airbus (in this millennium) designed a ce

Mind you, the following is just rumor talk: An aerodynamicist who used to work for the company once told me that when Airbus (in this millennium) designed a certain plane, they had a wing design with and without a winglet. They had equal performance. The winglet one was chosen for marketing reasons. Same with composites - the more you use, even when it increases weight - the better it looks in marketing. It is perceived as more modern. I've heard similar things about some mechanisms V-22 Osprey - that composites were used where old fashioned metals could have worked for lower weight.