" Ford could do this any time. You will not see this until it is cheaper to do than current production materials."

Therein lies the key Lynn! There are several very exotic materials that could work fine, but are made of unobtainium.

Bill Jepson

 Boeing and others are winding miles of carbon fiber onto mandrels to produce big fuselages every day.

 

Bucky balls and Bucky strands can be purchased over the internet and are produced when oil sludge is burned.

 

The price of Unobtainium is going down. The first peer review comments the discoverers of Fullerenes got back when they published was from Bell labs (My old employer) and suggestions and comments looked like two New York City telephone directories. You can weave Bucky strands into a sheet so thin you can see through it, and it's stronger than a sheet of 4130 .0015 thick. Remember invisible aluminum from a Star Trek

movie? You can buy it now.

 

Could Boeing use a spar for the 747 that is 30 tons lighter than aluminum and has no life limit for fatigue?

 

When you order a Camero body in carbon fiber from a circle track supply house, it comes in a cardboard tube about 14" in diameter. Hood, deck lid roof and 4 fenders in a card board tube. The paint job and the stickers will weigh more than the coachwork.

 

I have been put into shock by a materials discovery only 3 times. At a car show I saw two Porsche brake rotors on a table. Porsche used to use giant wheel diameters to get a bigger contact patch, and allow room for brake rotors the size of coffee tables. One of the brake rotors had a length of chain that would limit how close it could get to the edge of the table. I said, "what's the deal" He said "pick that one up first" (The iron version) It was heavy, about 15 pounds. No news there. Now this one. I picked up the one with the chain, and my mind locked  up. The chain snatched the rotor from my hand. The second rotor is made of tiny aluminum balls suspended in a ceramic foam and baked in an oven. Weighs 4 pounds. Nearly the strength of steel. The chain was because people would pick it up and throw it over their shoulders, or drop it on the floor.

Shows no wear at all when carbon brake pads are used. Do not fade even when bright orange. If brake rotors then why not brake calipers? Wheels? 747 Brake rotors? It will take 100 years to get that past the FAA.

 

Never been done before you know.

 

The military has UAVs that look like mud dauber wasps that carry color TV cameras.

 

What is next?

 

Lynn E. Hanover