Solvay congratulates COMAC on the first flight of its new C919 aircraft manufactured with Solvay composite materials

In 2012, Solvay, at the time Cytec, was awarded a long-term agreement to supply high-performance, structural composite and adhesive materials for COMAC's C919 commercial aircraft via Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company who is responsible for the C919 aircraft's manufacture.

In total, nine prepreg specifications and seven adhesive specifications were qualified with Solvay products for the C919 program and were used across the aircraft's structure. Solvay's CYCOM 977-2 and CYCOM X850 prepregs, toughened epoxy materials ideal for primary and secondary structure applications were utilized on the horizontal stabilizer, rear pressure bulkhead, aileron and flaps. CYCOM 970 and CYCOM 7701, two epoxy prepregs producing void-free honeycomb sandwich and monolithic structures were respectively used on the rudder, elevator, winglets, spoiler, wing-to-body fairings and on the radome.

Various adhesives for metal and composite bonding were also selected.

Carmelo Lo Faro, President of Solvay Composite Materials, said "We are proud to support COMAC in their

efforts to advance the Chinese aerospace industry, enabling them to position themselves for growth and to use composites successfully on a range of applications on the C919. We look forward to continuing with our collaborative work with COMAC for their future programs".