How Composite Winglets Benefit the Aerospace Industry

Composite materials are taking to the air in many forms due to increased use of them by the aerospace industry. In fact, this industry that has dramatically increased its use of composites in the components created for new aircraft. One example of the increased use of composite materials in new aircraft components is composite winglets.

Benefits of composite winglets

By combining composite materials with winglets on aircraft, the aerospace industry has created a structure that is extremely beneficial for aircraft that use them. Winglets are devices that are attached to the wingtips of an aircraft, and they’re designed to break up wingtip turbulence, known as vortices. By breaking up these vortices, winglets provide significant drag reduction for an aircraft. This reduction in drag translates into benefits in aircraft performance and range.

However, by making winglets out of composite materials, the advantages of winglets can be even more significant. One of the benefits that composite materials bring to winglets is that composites allow for a one-piece winglet and aileron structure. The ability to create these two structures as one single piece benefits manufacturers by reducing the number of steps required to create this part of the aircraft. One-piece composite winglet and aileron structures are currently being utilized in aircraft such as the Airbus A220-100 and A220-300, which were formerly known as the Bombardier CS100 and CS300 respectively.

Additionally, composites offer a number of other benefits when used in winglets. Some of the benefits these materials offer include:

• Decreasing the weight of this aircraft structure
• Helping to reduce aircraft emissions
• Significantly improving the fuel efficiency of aircraft

Thanks to the benefits offered by composite materials in the production of ariplane winglets, the aerospace industry can now create more environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient aircraft to meet the many transportation challenges businesses and individuals face in today’s world.

Composites One is the number one composite materials distributor in North America

Aerospace industry applications like composite winglets require a large amount of composite materials to manufacture. If your business manufacturers composite components for the aerospace industry, then you need to make sure that you have all of the composite materials you require when you need them.

The team at Composites One is here to help you with all of your composite material requirements. In fact, we have thousands of composite material supplies, including many specified materials, in stock from more than 600 suppliers. In addition, we can offer a convenient supply location that’s close to your business thanks to our 41 locations across the United States and Canada.

For more information about the composite materials or other services that we offer, contact the team at Composites One today.