Benefits and Advancements for Lower Wings

New lower wing plate product from Alcoa will be presented and discussed in terms of the design drivers for a lower wing application. Emphasis will be placed on improvements in toughness (plane stress), fatigue crack growth and spectrum fatigue will be discussed. Extruded products designed to complement the plate will also be presented. Results from structural analyses on the expected benefits from improved products and design reveal that significant weight savings, over 20%, can be achieved.