Aircraft Materials - Composite and Non-Metallic

A composite is made up from many parts, which includes not only the metallic alloys, but also the most earliest of all composite materials, such as wood (the tough, fibrous, xylem or water-conducting tissue of shrubs and trees, which contains lignin and cellulose), brick, concrete and glass.

In the aerospace industry, the term composite is used when referring to materials that are a combination of fibrous and synthetic resin materials. They provide many advantages by their great strength-to-weight ratios.

This topic covers a number of different materials, including plastics, resins, natural and synthetic rubbers, adhesives and sealants. Most of these materials will be found in use on modern aircraft.