The list of aircraft parts now being made with composites has grown longer than a TSA screening line: the fuselage, empennage, wings, nacelles, control surfaces, nose skin, and even floor beams. Plus internal non-airframe components like levers, interior braces and panels. Oh, and helicopter rotors. Then add in the newer metal-matrix composites and ceramic-matrix composites. Composite use is growing, and methods for machining them is advancing. Yet, carbon fiber reinforced plastics still represent the most commonly used composites in aerospace.
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