Vulcan's Blog

Lead Products Make Sure Aircraft Fly Right

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One of my favorite words is counter-intuitive. It’s always a surprise to discover a fact that is the opposite of what you expect or what seems logical. That’s particularly true when you think of aircraft and metals.

So much of what goes into aircraft is driven by the need for lightweight materials. When you think of metal in aircraft, you think of aluminum, titanium and other metals—or metal replacement materials like composites—that are light in weight.

But the reality of aerospace manufacturing contradicts this perception. There are many aerospace design engineers who are quite fond of lead. Duh? Lead is heavy. Airplanes need to be light in weight, so they can take off quickly and economize on fuel. What’s lead doing in an aircraft?

Well, the basic answer is that while aircraft need to be as light in weight as possible, each also needs to be a perfectly balanced system. And that’s where lead products come in.

At Vulcan we do work for many suppliers and primes in the aerospace industry.
Whether the buyers at these companies need parts to balance a helicopter rotor blade, small aircraft propellers or the tail assembly of a jet fighter, balance weights are a critical component of the performance and safety characteristics of any aircraft.

And when too much weight in one area of an aircraft results in a slightly out-of-balance design, it’s often lead that flies to the rescue. Reason: Lead is abundant (did you know it ranks fifth among mined metals?), widely available, relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture in a variety of shapes and sizes.

There’s a lot to like about lead. This category of lead products is called counter-weights or balance weights. You’d be surprised at all the other places lead shows up to meet this design need. I’ll be telling you more about them in future blogs.

Meanwhile, visit our website to learn more about balance weights and our capabilities with lead processes: www.vulcangms.com

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