Aluminium: is the material of choice for most aircraft structures, and has been since it superseded wood as the

common
airframe material in the 1920s/1930s. High-strength aluminium alloy is the most used material for the fuselage, wing and
supporting structures of many commercial airliners and military aircraft, particularly those built before the year 2000.
Aluminium accounts for 70–80% of the structural weight of most airliners and over 50% of many military aircraft and
helicopters, although in recent years the use of aluminium has fallen owing to the growing use of fibre–polymer
composite materials.
Titanium: alloys are used in both airframe structures and jet engine components because of their moderate weight, high
structural properties (e.g. stiffness, strength, toughness, fatigue), excellent corrosion resistance, and the ability to retain
their mechanical properties at high temperature. Various types of titanium alloys with different compositions are used,
although the most common is Ti–6Al–4V which is used in both aircraft structures and engines.
Magnesium: one of the lightest metals, and for this reason was a popular material for lightweight aircraft structures.
Magnesium was used extensively in aircraft built during the 1940s and 1950s to reduce weight, but since then the usage
has declined as it has been replaced by aluminium alloys and composites. The use of magnesium in modern aircraft and
helicopters is typically less than 2% of the total structural weight.
Steel: is the most commonly used metal in structural engineering, however its use as a structural material in aircraft is
small (under 5–10% by weight). The steels used in aircraft are alloyed and heat-treated for very high strength, and are
about three times stronger than aluminium and twice as strong as titanium. Steels also have high elastic modulus (three
times stiffer than aluminium) together with good fatigue resistance and fracture toughness. However, steel is not used in
large quantities for several reasons, with the most important being its high density, nearly three times as dense as
aluminium and over 50% denser than titanium. Other problems include the susceptibility of some grades of high strength
steel to corrosion and embrittlement which can cause cracking.
Superalloys: Superalloys are a group of nickel, iron–nickel and cobalt alloys used in jet engines. These metals have
excellent heat resistant properties and retain their stiffness, strength, toughness and dimensional stability at temperatures
much higher than the other aerospace structural materials.
Fibre–polymer composites: Composites are lightweight materials with high stiffness, strength and fatigue performance
that are made of continuous fibres (usually carbon) in a polymer matrix (usually epoxy). Along with aluminium, carbon
fibre composite is the most commonly used structural material for the airframe of aircraft and helicopters.
Fibre–metal laminates (FML): are lightweight structural materials consisting of thin bonded sheets of metal
and fibre– polymer composite.
What makes for a good aerospace material?