Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)
  • We worry about Carbon Fibre bikes…
  • DrDomRob
    Free Member

    Boeing have built a carbon fibre plane… Still should help towards a solution for the worlds overcrowding!

    iDave
    Free Member

    who worries about carbon fibre bikes?

    DrDomRob
    Free Member

    Apparently a lot of people on this forum… Not me though. I do however worry about carbon fibre aeroplanes.

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    bassspine
    Free Member

    it was the 'royal we'?

    druidh
    Free Member

    I wouldn't mind if they weren't just glueing the wings on.

    fizzer
    Free Member

    I've never worried about my carbon bikes

    nuke
    Full Member

    Ignoring the environmental benefits of a lighter plane over its lifespan, can you re-cycle carbon fibre or are these planes going to end up as landfill unlike alloy planes that can be chopped up and re-cycled?

    DrDomRob
    Free Member

    Fair enough then… Clearly I was wrong about STWer's worrying about carbon bikes!

    My favourite quote from the Boeing man at Farnborough was that CF's don't corrode like metals and therefore are better – or something like that. Hmmmm… There are other issues though unique to composites that I am fairly sure there isn't a good solution to yet.

    DrDomRob
    Free Member

    As far as I am aware, there are efforts to develop recycling processes, most of which are quite successful, but hugely energy intensive. Although things are improving.

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    I'm sure it'll be fine as long as they used a torque wrench and didn't over tighten the bolts.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    To be fair, I don't think Boeing are too worried about how it'll survive repeated collisions with trees and rocks.

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    To be fair carbon fibre has been use in aircraft for decades.

    glenh
    Free Member

    Carbon fiber has been used in aircraft since about 1970.

    Edit: beaten to it!

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    pfft carbon fiber indeed! the wattle and daub of the plastics industry!

    they should M(etal)TFU and build em out of raw iron ore!

    atlaz
    Free Member

    You know what, that wood stuff is overrated for boats too. They should use cement.

    vdubber67
    Free Member

    I'm glad they use carbon fibre and other composite materials in aircraft. I wouldn't have a job at a £10million/pa aerospace composites organisation otherwise.

    😉

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    You know what, that wood stuff is overrated for boats too. They should use cement.

    They've been making concrete boats for decades also, it's fairly usable.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_ship

    Waderider
    Free Member

    Airplanes aren't reused after stacking into some trees.

    I've got DT Swiss forks and a carbon seatpost but I'm realistic about the materials limitations.

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    Airplanes aren't reused after stacking into some trees.

    I bet some bits are re-used if there are minor impacts!

    CountZero
    Full Member

    What do you think stealth aircraft are made from? They first flew in '81. ( Or the F117 did, anyway).

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    What do you think stealth aircraft are made from?

    Mirrors ?

    nixon_fiend
    Free Member

    I never worried about carbon bikes .. everyone said I'd crack my Carbon XC bike (riding XC) with my rather balls-out* riding style.

    I didn't listen.

    Took 2 months before a 3 inch crack appeared in the BB/down tube.. do'h!

    No crashes either.. and I weight 10 st.

    *Just a bit gung-ho, no jumps or gnar skills

    epicyclo
    Full Member

    coffeeking – Member
    'You know what, that wood stuff is overrated for boats too. They should use cement.'
    They've been making concrete boats for decades also, it's fairly usable.

    If you get on Google Earth and look in Scalpay Harbour (Isle of Harris) you'll see an ancient concrete ship tied up there.

    57 52' 37.11N 6 42' 1.11"W – the CRETETREE

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    I wouldn't mind if they weren't just glueing the
    wings on.

    As long as they remember to paint the pilot before they glue him into the cockpit. I always used to forget that bit.

    Vortexracing
    Full Member

    We dont glue wings on, but we do glue the wings together, IE the top and bottom skins are bonded (glued) to the sub structure.

    and BTW if the skins came off or the wing detached it would still end in the same way.

    Carbon is great, as long as it's used where it benefits and not as a 'black metal'

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    As long as they remember to paint the pilot before they glue him into the cockpit. I always used to forget that bit.

    *grins*

    i'd guess CF is stronger than the wood and canvas they used to be made of?

    Drac
    Full Member

    My guess would be there's slightly more engineering and testing goes into an aircraft than a Taiwanese mass produced bike.

    DrDomRob
    Free Member

    Loving the airfix comments!!! I am worried they're going to turn out a bit like James May's life size airfix spitfire…!!!

    I don't think the stealth aircraft use the same level of composite as the dreamliner does, or even the same construction method, nor does it carry 240+ (I think) passengers. I also don't think it has poorly trained ground crews driving food trolleys into the door frames regularly – although I have noticed that they are armoured.

    Sounds like I'm scare mongoring (Spelling?), possibley I am, but personally I think these materials have come in a bit quick, although I am sure the FEA will prove me wrong. Still at least the process of producing CF is environmentally friendly…

    kenneththecurtain
    Free Member

    I know nothing about aircraft design, but I can see why aluminium probably wasn't the best solution. Fatigue isn't cool.

    SammySammSamm
    Free Member

    To my knowledge, Carbon Fibre's been used in the commercial aerospace industry since ~1970 with the Rolls Royce RB211. There have been reasons why CFs haven't been used for main commerical assemblies until recently – but do realise the commercial aerospace industry is one of the most conservative around.

    Safety really is critical.

    DrDomRob
    Free Member

    The dreamliner is – I believe – the first non military aircraft which uses composites for serious structural elements… ie all of them.

    SammySammSamm
    Free Member

    Exciting isn't it? 😀

    BiscuitPowered
    Free Member

    vdubber67 – Member

    I'm glad they use carbon fibre and other composite materials in aircraft. I wouldn't have a job at a £10million/pa aerospace composites organisation otherwise.

    ditto 😉

    As others have said, the next generation of airliners (787 for Boeing, A350 for Airbus) are the first to feature composite primary structures.

    Carbon aircraft have their own unique set of technical challenges such as impact damage tolerance, plus various others that might not be immediately apparent, such as lightning strike tolerance.

    The comment about 'black metal' from Chucky (aka Vortex Racing) is one I'm very familiar with 😉

    As for recycling, there's not much you can do with cured carbon fibre other than chop it up and chuck it in a pit, or maybe grind it up and use it in the roads.

    becky_kirk43
    Free Member

    Environmentally friendly as long as they don't do what aston martin (and possibly others) do, they grind up their used carbon fibre into little pellets and stick them in landfill just because its part of an aston martin!

    Don't think I'd be too worried about the planes made of CF, they're less likely to crash than a mountain bike and if they do they won't do any worse than metal!

    Vortexracing
    Full Member

    where do you work Biscuit Powered?

    vdubber67
    Free Member

    Biscuit Powered – Member

    vdubber67 – Member

    I'm glad they use carbon fibre and other composite materials in aircraft. I wouldn't have a job at a £10million/pa aerospace composites organisation otherwise.

    ditto

    As others have said, the next generation of airliners (787 for Boeing, A350 for Airbus) are the first to feature composite primary structures.

    Carbon aircraft have their own unique set of technical challenges such as impact damage tolerance, plus various others that might not be immediately apparent, such as lightning strike tolerance.

    The comment about 'black metal' from Chucky (aka Vortex Racing) is one I'm very familiar with

    As for recycling, there's not much you can do with cured carbon fibre other than chop it up and chuck it in a pit, or maybe grind it up and use it in the roads.

    Given your location, Airbus or BAE? 😉

    Vortexracing
    Full Member

    Sounds more like Airbus, I'm at BAES Warton

    vdubber67
    Free Member

    Chucky (aka Vortex Racing) – Member

    Sounds more like Airbus, I'm at BAES Warton

    STW Aerospace club anyone? 🙂 Cobham here btw!

    Vortexracing
    Full Member

    Cobham here btw

    ahh radomes R us

    Frankenstein
    Free Member

    So many different types of carbon fibre structually arranged.
    You can't compare bikes and planes…

    Even F1 cars have carbon fibre crumple zones but completely different from bicycles!

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)

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