X-55 Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft

The X-55 Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA) -- nicknamed the Carbon Comet by Lockheed Martin -- was a demonstrator designed to experiment with new materials and structural concepts.

The aircraft consisted of the wing, nose section and engines of the Dornier 328J with a completely new fuselage and vertical tail made from advanced MTM45-1 composite materials fabricated using out-of-autoclave curing. Out-of-autoclave curing of large, unitized and co-bonded structures minimizes...