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Aircraft Aluminum

Aircraft Aluminum: What Can it Be Used For?

Aluminum is one of the most common metals used in the construction of aircraft parts. One of the most common metals on Earth, aluminum's strength, light weight, and corrosion resistance make it ideal for numerous aerospace applications. Fuselage skins, fuel tanks, engine turbines, cockpit instrumentation, doors, and seat frames are a few of the aluminum parts you'll find on modern aircraft.

Aluminum's been used in the construction of aircraft since the earliest days of aviation. And we do mean early. During the 19th century, Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin used aluminum for the frames of his "rigid airships." And the plane the Wright Brothers flew during their historic first flight in 1903 used aluminum engine components. Today, aluminum parts can be found in aircraft of all kinds, from gliders and prop planes to fighter jets and spacecraft.

Aircraft Aluminum Alloys Used By the Aerospace Industry

Most of the aluminum used in aircraft manufacturing are alloys, aluminum mixed with other materials. Alloying materials include copper, manganese, magnesium, silicon, zinc, and chromium. These elements are added to make the aluminum stronger and more resistant to heat and corrosion. Some of the aluminum alloys used in the aerospace industry include:

2024 is the most widely used aluminum alloy for aircraft with excellent fatigue resistance and high tensile strength. 2024 is used for a plane's fuselage and wings.

3003 is one of the most widely used aluminum alloys because of its great strength and great workability,

5052 has excellent corrosion resistance (especially to saltwater) and is commonly used to make fuel tanks. It's highly ductile and can be easily formed into a variety of shapes. 

6061 is corrosion-resistant, very light, and fairly strong, making it ideal for fuselage and wings. 

7050 is more resistant to fractures than other allow and is commonly used in military aircraft

7075 is another alloy commonly used in aircraft construction; it has excellent fatigue resistance and can be machined easily.

Jaco Aerospace Aircraft Grade Aluminum 

 Jaco Aerospace has been supplying aircraft-grade aluminum and other aircraft metals to aircraft manufacturers as well as aircraft maintenance and repair facilities since 1971. Our aircraft-grade aluminum is available in a wide variety of shapes, depending on your needs, including aluminum sheets, aluminum tubes, aluminum strips, aluminum coils, and aluminum bars, to name a few. We're one of the industry's most trusted aviation supply companies, distributing only materials that meet the highest manufacturing standards, including official mil-spec supplies. 

Email Jaco Aerospace at [email protected] to learn more about our high-quality aluminum aircraft metals.