Notwithstanding the unprecedented scale of composites content in the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350XWB airliners, aluminum still reigns as the material of choice in most airliner fuselage applications. At least that’s the message Alcoa–the aluminum company–wants to send here in Farnborough, where scores of examples of flying machines made of the metals the company supplies grace the static display.
Of course, the use of carbon-fiber products doesn’t preclude the use of aluminum and various other more exotic metals in the same airplane. Even what many consider an all-composite fuselage in the 787 uses thousands of highly specialized and expensive metallic fasteners made by Alcoa. In fact, according to Bill Christopher, Alcoa executive vice president and group president of the company’s Engineered Products & Solutions division, the dollar value of Alcoa’s contribution to the 787 virtually equals that of the aluminum-bodied 767.
