Stork Aerospace/Fokker last week cut the first Airbus A380 component to be made from its glassfibre reinforced aluminium (Glare) material. Glare, which consists of alternate layers of aluminium and glassfibre, was developed by the Dutch company with Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands' NLR national aerospace research centre. The hybrid material is more fatigue resistant than aluminium which, says Airbus executive vice-president Charles Champion, "will help save approximately 1t of weight on the A380". Airbus plans to use over 400m2 (4,300ft2) of the material for 22 skin panels on the A380's upper fuselage.
Source: Flight International
