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The bulk of the structural components of an airplane are made of some type of metallic materials. An aluminum alloy is used on most metallic components, because it is relatively light weight (remember, the lighter the plane, the farther it can fly, or the less fuel it will need), yet still strong enough to carry significant loads. Steel is used for a smaller number of components that are very highly loaded, such as landing gears, engine fittings, and the tracks that the flaps move along. Because certain components such as the engine nacelles, engine components, firewalls (partitions in the plane to reduce the possibility of a fire spreading too quickly), and ducting can be used at very high temperatures, these parts are commonly created from titanium. Aluminum and steel tend to lose their strength at high temperatures.
More and more, composite materials are being used for some
components such as control surfaces, flaps, and spoilers.
These materials are very light and stiff and help reduce the
weight of the airplane structure. Unfortunately, the cost is
very expensive, and it takes a lot of experience to
build a composite properly. As the cost goes down,
and the experience levels rise, more and more components of
the plane will be composite. Composite materials are made of
fibers of boron or graphite embedded in a layer of epoxy.
The strength along the fibers is very, very large,
but it is not very high across them. Most composite
materials, then, are created by layering the thin sheets
with the fibers alternating directions. The resulting material is very
strong in all directions.
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