Aerospace –important, changing
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This month we highlight the investment made by Canadian global aerospace firm Magellan at one of its UK sites, Wrexham. Its new wing spar machining cell is claimed to offer the most cost-competitive spar machining capability world wide. A demonstration of how the UK can successfully compete in the high added value area of aerospace. (See full article <a href="http://www.machinery.co.uk/article/21816/Ultimate-sparring-partner.aspx" target= "new"><b>here</b></a>)
And, although there are order cancellations and deferments in the civil aerospace market, the news remains broadly positive. As GKN, which serves the global aerospace market, announced in its December interim statement: "GKN Aerospace continues to perform well, with military aircraft production remaining solid and no further material reduction in civil aircraft schedules". The same wording as used in its previous statement, issued in October, in fact, while it said earlier of the first half of the year: "With the exception of the business jet market, aircraft production levels in both the civil and defence sectors remained at planned levels in the first half of 2009." This, it was said, had been driven by large order backlogs, and it did note that orders had slowed. However, forward projections show huge global demand for new civil airliners in the coming years, with environmental concerns and fuel efficiency a big driver. A glimpse of this future was given in December, with the first flight of Boeing's 787 aircraft, which lasted just over three hours – visit www.newairplane.com to view a video clip of the event.
The big highlight for this aircraft, which uses highest ever levels of carbon composites materials in such a plane, is that it will "use 20 per cent less fuel than today's airplanes of comparable size ", according to Boeing. And, although late, the company is claiming that, with 55 customers around the world having ordered 840 787s, it is "the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history". Airbus' A350XWB similarly uses large amounts of composite materials, but is yet to fly.
Aerospace remains big business, and particularly important business for the UK, as Magellan's investment underlines. But while that is focused on metalcutting, the 787 and A350XWB demonstrate change: the manufacture of composite parts will increasingly be the story over coming years.
Machinery will be keeping you up to date on both these technologies, as it has on this occasion.
First published in Machinery, January 2010
