Genesis of your product. why and for whom?

GKN have developed a 17m composite wing spar as part of the Airbus Wing of Tomorrow program. A UK ATI project, delivering complex, out of autoclave structure that meets the demanding performance and cost requirements of a future SA aircraft. GKN were also awarded the FTE assembly development, all of which were completed at GKN's UK

Benefits for the final customers?

GKN is a world leader in composite manufacturing, supplying Airbus with the FTE for the A350 aircraft. In WoT we built on this expertise to produce a one piece out of autoclave rear wing spar, both geometrically complex and suitable for high rate production.

The product : materials and processes

The WoT spar is manufactured from a carbon fibre epoxy composite. The fibre is supplied by Teijin Carbon Europe, infused with a next generation epoxy resin, supplied by Solvay Composite Materials. It is produced using an OoA, large scale RTM injection process. GKN have been able to manufacture the largest ever close moulded primary wing component, demonstrating improved quality, repeatability and weight reduction compared to current generation of composite wings