Carbon Fiber Planes

The cost to travel in a plane is dependent on its weight. The heavier the plane, the more fuel it takes to drive through the air. The more fuel it takes, the more it costs. In order to improve the performance and fuel efficiency of planes, designers have been moving away from using Aluminum in airframes. Instead, the designers are using lightweight Carbon fibre. More specifically, they are using woven mats of Carbon embedded in plastic. "Normally the matrix is a type of plastic, which is not very strong, but if you mix in Carbon fibre then it takes on the strength of Carbon fibre and becomes strong." Carbon is, therefore, a great substitute for Aluminum because it is incredibly strong for its weight. Because of the Carbon fibre, airplanes can have different designs rather than the traditional airplane designs. The new designs that are being considered could significantly improve a plane's lift-to-drag ratio, making it much more aerodynamically efficient. In England, Airbus recently revealed that its proposal moves away from the traditional narrow tube-like fuselage. Instead, the plane has a fatter fuselage, which is curved and shaped to improve airflow and to provide more internal space. To add on, the wings are longer and slimmer to reduce drag and save on fuel. Lastly, the tail section is U-shaped, which acts as a shield by cutting down on engine noise. To learn more about the Carbon Fiber Planes that are being developed in England, click on the link provided below.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25833264