Ultralight aircraft expert Flight Design (Hosselberg-Heinich, Germany) has selected Hexcel (Stanford, Connecticut, USA) to provide low-temperature curing prepreg for its aircraft production. Specifically, Hexcel ’s HexPly M79 carbon fiber prepregs were chosen because they reportedly produce lighter and stronger aircraft by ensuring constant material quality and processing parameters and at a more competitive overall cost. Provide a more consistent end product.
Flight Design has always relied heavily on composite materials to manufacture ultra-light aircraft. When the company began to seek prepreg solutions, it sought a long-term composite partner Lange + Ritter (part of Hexcel's European distribution network). Hexcel and Lange + Ritter created several new product codes specifically for Flight Design, and then provided materials for initial processing trials and prototyping. Hexcel's HexPly M79 autoclave solution low-temperature curing is used for the first time in a new F2 prototype. As part of the material supply package, Lange + Ritter also sent a team for on-site training and technical support to enable the Flight Design production team to master the prepreg as soon as possible.
Hexcel said that HexPly M79 prepregs can be cured at temperatures as low as 70 ° C for eight hours or at 80 ° C for four hours, thereby reducing mold costs and increasing construction speed. When used in conjunction with Hexcel's exhaust grid technology, HexPly M79 UD ribbons can also be laminated by reducing the thinning step, so that regardless of the thickness of the laminate, the void content is less than 1%. With consistent low porosity and improved mechanical properties, designers and engineers can further optimize high-load composite aerospace structures.
According to Hexcel, more composite aircraft components from Flight Design are being transferred to prepreg technology. According to reports, the use of HexPly M79 can make the pavement cleaner and more accurate. Its low temperature oven curing is fast and energy-saving, and its manufacturing process consistently outputs high-quality laminates and components. Hexcel said that Flight Design's long-term strategy is to integrate HexPly M79 throughout the aircraft.