Composite safety and certification meeting

Composite materials are rapidly replacing the traditional aluminium in constructing aircraft. The lightweight nature of the material, advances in manufacturing, and confidence in the safety of the materials mean that aircraft like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 are now made from a large percentage of composite material.

A Composite Safety and Certification Meeting was hosted by us on 01-04 Mar 2016.

The objective of the meeting was to give an update on the FAA’s latest guidance material, and for the FAA to gain an understanding of the important issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region with respect to composite materials.

The meeting was led by the FAA’s chief technical and scientific officer for composite materials, Dr Larry Ilcewicz. Two days were dedicated to authority discussions, and two days opened to industry.

The Authorities included Japan’s JCAB, China’s CAAC, Australia’s CASA, and the hosting group from our own Aircraft Certification Unit. The Industry days were well attended by 50 delegates from a variety of composite design, maintenance, and manufacturing companies from New Zealand, Japan, China, and Australia.