Why dont they make aeroplanes out of the same material as the black box?

Question

Why don’t they make air planes out of the same material as the black box?

Lets face it the black boxes always survive anything, bombs, crash, water resistant so why the h**l don’t they make the rest of the plane out of the same material???

Answer 1

Hitman -

Changing the material of structural portions of the aircraft would of necessity alter the design. The strength-to-weight ratio of the material used in the black box is considerably lower than titanium, and also lower than recent high strength aluminum alloys. It is substantially lower than composites, depending on the nature of the load being applied. As a result, the wings would be so heavy that the stresses in the members attaching them to the aircraft would be much higher, and the structural members would exceed their yield strength at lower G loads - perhaps while just sitting on the ground. You could always make the material thinner, but that violates the spirit of your question.

The strength of a structure is based on more than the strength of the material that is used. It is also inextricably tied to the configuration of the structure itself and the nature of the loads that are being applied. Just because you change the material does not mean that you will end up with a stronger aircraft. In this case, I suspect that the aircraft that you would end up with would have a structural load resistance that would be equivalent or lower than the superior designs that are being created today using high strength aluminum, titanium, and composites. At the same time, it would be twice as expensive, and cost three times higher to operate.

When objects get heavier, they still have to carry their own weight - so they have to get thicker, which makes them even heavier. It really is a self-defeating cycle, and the best option to date is the one already being used.

Answer 2

For goodness sake, how many times is this silly question going to be asked? For a start, black boxes don't always survive, and also it's like saying "Why aren't cars made from metre thick reinforced concrete, that's pretty strong". The plane would be too heavy to fly. Godfathers, modern education!!

Answer 3

The fuselage of an aircraft needs to be lightweight for several reasons. Making it from the same material as the "black box" would cause a considerable increase in the weight of the craft thereby adding to fuel costs as well as prompting other issues with flight and navigation.

Answer 4

First off, they DON'T survive everything!

In the recent crash in Spain, one of the "black" boxes were damaged.

For more info why not, go here:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_...

Answer 5

Ba-da-bum!!

Answer 6

Because it would not be an aeroplane as it would be too heavy to take off.

Black boxes ( actually orange ) are not indesctructable they are just designed to be strong. They are also placed at the back of the plane do that if it crashes they stand the best chance of being intact.

So a plane made like one would still break up if a crash occured. The outside of a black box is made from a high temperature nickle alloy. Its main property is heat resistance not strength.

Answer 7

Even if you would be able to make an indestructible plane, you would still die if the airplane crashed, because of the huge g-forces created on impact.

For the rest I agree on the huge costs involved in such a project (if possible) for building and operating.

And remember: it's still the safest way to travel, by far!

Answer 8

Expense, difficulty to repair if damaged, very heavy.

The weight of the plane, the lift surfaces (wing design), and the power of the engines all factor in.  If a plane built "as tough" as a black box fell out of the sky and hit the ground, it will probably still be in pieces (from 30,000 feet, a hollow object, not a chance).  Even if the plane was intact, the occupants would be dead.  If a fire broke on after a relatively survivable landing, the material could prove to work against anyone trying to get out, especially if the exit points have been blocked or jammed.  Like in a car crash, you want certain parts of the plane to absorb the impact and break away.

Answer 9

The black box is a small recording device inside an aeroplane, designed to be tough, but is of course not indestructible. As such, there would be no point in making the whole plane out of something that was destructible.

Answer 10

Oh  be too heavy  wouldn't fly    

Answer 11

Actually, there is no such thing as an airplane which won't fly due to weight so long as there are engines powerful enough to lift it into the air.  After all, there are cargo planes which can carry multiple M1 Abrams tanks in their hulls over the Pacific Ocean.

If the demand were there among enough travellers who insisted only on flying on airplanes which were as strong as the materials used in a 'black box', engineers would surely find a way to build it.  But the reality is that few people would pay the large expense to fly on such an aircraft.  Witness the demise of the Concorde passenger jet, which stopped flying about five years ago.