A rib foot cleat for sealing around a stringer passing through a rib mouse hole in an aircraft assembly. The rib foot cleat has a body for attaching to a rib at a rib mouse hole and defines a cleat channel configured to be arranged over the stringer. The rib foot cleat also has an injection hole through the cleat body which is in fluid communication with the cleat channel, to allow sealant material to be injected through the injection hole in to the cleat channel for sealing around the stringer.

Systems, devices, and methods for an extruded wing protection and control surface comprising: a channel proximate a leading edge of the control surface, a knuckle disposed about the channel, a leading void, a trailing void, and a separator dividing the leading void and the trailing void; and a plurality of notches disposed in the extruded control surface proximate the leading edge of the control surface.

A structure (10) for aircrafts, includes a part (20) including a metal leading edge (30), the leading edge (30) being covered by a coating (40) having a thickness which is less than or equal to ten micrometers and having a hardness higher than six hundred in the Vickers hardness test (HV). According to a mode of embodiment, the coating (40) is a multilayer stainless steel coating consisting of a superposition of layers with a low nitrogen gradient and layers with a high nitrogen gradient, the layers having a thickness essentially equal to a micrometer. An aircraft including such a structure is also described.

A structure (10) for aircrafts, includes a part (20) including a metal leading edge (30), the leading edge (30) being covered by a coating (40) having a thickness which is less than or equal to ten micrometers and having a hardness higher than six hundred in the Vickers hardness test (HV). According to a mode of embodiment, the coating (40) is a multilayer stainless steel coating consisting of a superposition of layers with a low nitrogen gradient and layers with a high nitrogen gradient, the layers having a thickness essentially equal to a micrometer. An aircraft including such a structure is also described.

An aerostructure assembly that includes an aerostructure (e.g., a resin pressure molded structure) and a coupling assembly is disclosed. The aerostructure includes an outer shell and a female receiver located within an interior of the outer shell. The coupling assembly includes a coupling and a beam that extends from this coupling. The beam is disposed within the female receiver, including where at least part of the coupling is positioned beyond an open end of the outer shell. The shape of the female receiver may retain the aerostructure to the beam in at least one direction/dimension. One or more fasteners may be utilized to attach the aerostructure to the beam. The coupling may be formed from one or more metals, and in any case, accommodates attachment of the aerostructure assembly to a flight vehicle.

An open-channel stiffener for stiffening a panel has a bonding flange for bonding the stiffener to the panel through a bondline formed between the bonding flange and the panel to form a stiffened panel. The open-channel stiffener has a cross-sectional shape that aligns, or substantially aligns, a shear center of the stiffener with a centroid of the stiffener and aligns the shear center proximate an edge of the bondline, and removes the need for a radius filler noodle. A plurality of perforations may be formed through the bonding flange to permit an adhesive to wick into the perforations and create a mechanical interlock between the bonding flange and the panel.

A tip structure for an aircraft airfoil, such as a control surface (ailerons, flaps, elevators, rudders, etc) and/or a lifting surface (wings, HTP's, VTP's) is a unitary body and includes a tip shell and a metallic material on the outer surface of the tip shell suitable to withstand a lighting strike. The tip shell has been obtained by a single-stage injection molding process using a thermoplastic composite material having fibers dispersed therein, and the metallic material has been integrally formed with the tip shell.

A tip structure for an aircraft airfoil, such as a control surface (ailerons, flaps, elevators, rudders, etc) and/or a lifting surface (wings, HTP's, VTP's) is a unitary body and includes a tip shell and a metallic material on the outer surface of the tip shell suitable to withstand a lighting strike. The tip shell has been obtained by a single-stage injection molding process using a thermoplastic composite material having fibers dispersed therein, and the metallic material has been integrally formed with the tip shell.

In one aspect, there is a method of making a pre-cured laminate having a total number of plies in a mold, the mold having a periphery defined by a forward edge, an aft edge, and outboard ends. The method includes selecting a first plurality of resin impregnated plies that continuously extend beyond the periphery of the mold, the first plurality of resin impregnated plies includes at least 50 percent of the total number of plies; laying the plies in a mold; compacting the plies in a mold; and pre-curing the plies to form a pre-cured laminate, which can extend beyond the periphery of the mold. In an embodiment, a pre-cured laminate includes a first plurality of resin impregnated plies that continuously extend beyond the periphery of the mold, the first plurality of resin impregnated plies includes at least 50 percent of the total number of plies.

An aircraft component including a structural foam having a predetermined shape, an outer flange located near a first end of the structural foam, an inner flange located near a second end of the structural foam, a web skin encapsulating the inner flange and at least a portion of the structural foam wherein the structural foam is affixed to the web skin, wherein the aircraft component comprises a portion of a blended wing body aircraft (BWB), the BWB having no demarcation between a wing and a main body of the BWB.