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Carbon brakes putting the squeeze on steel
- Article from:
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Interavia
- Article date:
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May 1, 1998
- Author:
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Copyright informationCopyright Aerospace Media Publishing May 1998. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Geneva: Carbon brakes are eating into steel brakes' economic edge, but in this largely after-sales market, conventional technology is standing up.
A little more than a decade ago, enthusiastic aviation engineers were forecasting the rapid replacement of steel brakes by carbon brakes on all new commercial aircraft. The new technology was expected to bring such large improvements in braking performance, safety, weight and durability that it would win despite its higher cost. As often happens, these predictions were over-optimistic. Today, carbon brakes have indeed become standard on all large commercial aircraft, but steel brakes have not been wiped out from the market. On the contrary, all ...