Aircraft that ushered in a new era of materials technology. What do you think?

Question

My mate and I were having a discusion the other day about the materials used in Aircraft, specifically which aircraft marked the most important breakthrough in aircraft materials development. I argued the SR-71. What plane do you guys reckon was/is the most important in the short history of aviation?

Answer 1

Wright Flyer--first aluminum engine block.

Answer 2

Surely not the sr71. What breakthrough? Nobody else went on to make an aircraft out of titanium.

Answer 3

I don't know.

Answer 4

I'm sure there are lots of candidates... but I think of the XB-70. This 1st flew in 1965 there. I was there! This was the precursor to the Concorde, in concept if nothing else. At higher speeds the center of lift moves aft ('aft' is an aircraft/nautical term used here to make it sound like I know what I am talking about) and to maintain control, the wings would fold down to move the lift forward again. At a distance this plane looked like a banana pulling an orange crate. Remember, the fuselage bent up then level again, forward of the wings, more pronounced than on the Concorde. My uncle worked on this plane and they had to invent new techniques of skin bonding, and also the new honeycomb/aluminum sandwich skin material. This has been used in many high performance planes since then.

Or maybe the choice should be one of Burt Rutan's composite planes. This construction technique is really 'taking off' these days. And in home building, Oriented Strand (OSB?) boards are an engineered composite. To get the strength needed in a given direction, metal must be extruded, forged, cold-worked or whatever, but composites have off-the-shelf material (cloth) that has different and specific engineered properties. One chooses the strand type, diameter, weave, orientation and binder to achieve whatever strength necessary.

Answer 5

I agree with you that the SR-71 is or was a huge advanncement.  I'm keep thinking back to the early days when passenger aircraft were made of wood and after a famous crash that era came to an end after the 1931 death of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne in the crash of TWA Flight 599. The subsequent investigation, which revealed problems with the Fokker's plywood-laminate construction, resulted in the banning of the aircraft on commercial flights, and the rise of all-metal aircraft such as the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2.

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Answer 6

There are two questions, a breakthrough in MATERIAL and a breakthrough in aviation... The SR-71 was custom designed for a specific mission, which it met brilliantly.  Little of the technology, however, revolutionized aviation material technologies.  Great plane, amazing materials, but specialized.

I agree composite materials are probably the latest evolution from dope/silk to aluminum to composites is a large step.  I think the 777 and it's use of composite material on a large industrial scale is a prime example.  The 777 took composite technology from the fringe, to the mainstream, and served as a proving ground on the commercial side.  It ushered in a new era of material handling and repair in the field, much like aluminum must have.  Sure, it's mostly aluminum, but it has enough composite materials in critical components.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers!

Answer 7

Composites rank as number one in the materials technology. Carbon fiber reduced the weight and added strength. Radar absorbent materials added to the stealth technology. In the commercial aircraft I remember that Airbus Industrie introduced the Kevlar concept. The USAF took up the composites in its stealth programme. The SR-71 was the forerunner in the advent of the composites and I would personally consider it as the one aircraft which made a great break through in military aviation.

You have asked a very inellligent question and indeed a very thought provoking one. Keep up the good show,

Answer 8

i dont know much but i'd gotta say the osprey is the biggest breakthrough to my knowledge

part plane, part helicopter.

takes off and lands like a helicopter but has the stealth and speed of a plane.