Aircraft will Continue to Get Lighter in 2023
As energy costs continue to rise in 2023, the aviation industry seeks to replace traditional aircraft components with lightweight materials to increase the efficiency of air travel. Excessive weight burns more fuel and can negatively impact an airplane’s take-off and landing distance, speed, rate of climb, maximum altitude, range, and maneuverability.
Travel lighter
Lighter and often stronger than their metal counterparts, composite materials provide a superior weight to strength ratio across a wider range of operating conditions. Over time, more and more composites are expected to replace traditional metal components in aerospace applications. The guiding principle of lightweight design using less material with lower density, while ensuring the same – or improved – technical performance in even the most demanding applications.
Improve energy efficiency
As virtually every industry joins the fight against climate change, the aerospace industry seeks to improve sustainable operations by reducing emissions and waste. One of the most effective and practical ways to improve energy efficiency is reducing the mass and weight of aircraft. A Boeing 787, for example, uses 10-12% less fuel when its weight is reduced by 20%1. In addition to using less fuel, composite parts use less material and often last longer than metallic components, further minimizing the overall carbon footprint of the aircraft through recycling and reduced waste.
Reduce the weight of aerospace components by over half
One tried and true material for light-weighting is Greene Tweed’s Xycomp® DLF™, a thermoplastic composite that delivers the performance of metal at a fraction of the weight. Designed to replace complex metallic components for aerospace and defense, space, and industrial applications, this material offers superior fatigue, vibration, and impact resistance –while providing up to 60% weight savings over traditional metallic parts. A lighter aircraft helps reduce emissions and fuel use without sacrificing performance. For additional weight and space savings, Greene Tweed’s catalog features a variety of lightweight metal alternatives like seal carriers, thermoplastic composites, and our patented Seal-Connect product line.
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