Aerospace Composites Course

Unlock the Full Potential of Composites in Less Time

Composite materials enable advancements in many fields, but manufacturing high-quality composite parts can be challenging. Knowledge and skills are often learned through trial and error, but trial and error is costly and time consuming. A single scrapped part can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars in wasted material.



The DarkAero Aerospace Composites Course is designed to save you the time, money, and frustration of learning composites while arming you with a skill set for success on your next composites project. You will walk away prepared to design, manufacture, test, and repair your own high-quality composite parts!



WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE?

If you want to understand how to design composite components and develop the hands-on skills to build them, this course is for you!

We have helped over 100 students from beginners to professionals accelerate their progress building experimental aircraft, eVTOLs, drones, UAVs, boats, racecars, electric vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and military hardware.

Past students include:

NASA

Kratos Defense

Polaris

Airbus

Leonardo DRS

Oshkosh Corp


Featured Project

A NASA engineer who enrolled in the course brought with him the nose cone of a sounding rocket. A sounding rocket is a type of research rocket equipped with scientific instruments and is designed to reach the edge of space, allowing for short runs of scientific experiments to be carried out quickly and cost effectively compared to a traditional orbital rocket launch. The engineer was seeking guidance in converting the nose cone from aluminum to composite material.


The aluminum design was heavy at around 40 lbs, required expensive forming equipment, and contained inner bulkheads with several dozen rivets. Through discussions in the course, we were able to come up with a design for a composite nose cone and identified the specific materials that would be used to reduce its weight and allow for more payload per launch.
The aluminum design was heavy at around 40 lbs, required expensive forming equipment, and contained inner bulkheads with several dozen rivets. Through discussions in the course, we were able to come up with a design for a composite nose cone and identified the specific materials that would be used to reduce its weight and allow for more payload per launch.


Testimonials

"Thank you so much for the course. At the Friday happy hour after the class, the attendees (most of the class) were all commenting on how much of a 'cheat code' your time, efforts, and expertise has given us to leap forward in our projects. I’ve spent the day ordering materials and tools, and am excited to get going."

Ryan C.
Engineer, Formula Race Car Simulator Project
"Your team's patience and willingness to explain the concepts in detail made the learning experience for me very effective and enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed being able to talk about my current Highlander project, and being able to get your advice on how to solve my current problems with various fiberglass parts I have on my plane! Super helpful and I can't wait to get back home and start getting my hands dirty."

Brady N.
Highlander Kit Aircraft Builder



"I attended this course and it was easily the best, and most informative composites instruction I’ve ever received, including formal education. Went from knowing the bare minimum to a good working knowledge in about two days. Can’t recommend this course enough!"

Nitin S.
Aerospace Engineer, UAV Startup
"Can honestly say the Karl bros saved us years of work. Couldn't recommend the course highly enough! Very well thought out, designed and presented."

Brian F.
Entrepreneur



COURSE OVERVIEW

The course is structured as a mix of both classroom lessons and hands-on training in the shop. Composite material fundamentals, design methods, fiber and resin selection, and design for manufacturability are covered in class. Examples specific to student applications are used to immediately apply what is learned.
The training and demonstrations in the shop are designed to provide students with hands-on experience using the right tools, materials, and techniques so skills can be rapidly developed and applied to their own projects. Tips, tricks, and troubleshooting methods are covered, as well as recommended materials and preferred suppliers.
The training and demonstrations in the shop are designed to provide students with hands-on experience using the right tools, materials, and techniques so skills can be rapidly developed and applied to their own projects. Tips, tricks, and troubleshooting methods are covered, as well as recommended materials and preferred suppliers.

Topics Covered

-Understanding Fiber Properties and Fabric Weaves for Carbon Fiber, Fiberglass, and Aramid
-How to Pick the Right Resin System - Epoxy, Vinyl Ester, Polyester
-Core Materials - Honeycomb, Foam, and Infusible Core
-Demonstrations of Wet Layup, Vacuum Bagging, Infusion, and Prepreg Processes
-How to Correctly Post-Cure Composite Materials
-Inspection and Quality Checks for Composites
-Composite Assemblies - Bonding, Fasteners, and Hardpoints
-Designing Composite Structures
-Layering Fabric and Fiber Orientations
-Testing Composite Structures
-How to Repair Composite Structures

WHAT'S INCLUDED?

-Two Days of Instruction
-Hands-On Training
-Examples Tailored to Student Applications
-Aerospace Composites Course Guide (70+ Pages)
-Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
-Breakfast, Lunch, and Refreshments!

Bonus Included Material

-Step-by-Step Vacuum Infusion Guide (30+ Pages)
-Step-by-Step Bonding Guide (10+ Pages)
-Purchase Guide with Links to Source Cloth, Resin, and Equipment (20+ Pages)

PRICE

$1349


Available Course Sessions:

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Seats are fully transferable to a future session if a reschedule is necessary. Seats are fully refundable if the refund request is made more than 60 days prior to your originally selected session.

COURSE LOCATION

DarkAero
6448 Ronald Reagan Ave
Madison, WI 53704

WHERE TO STAY

Get the DarkAero rate at these hotels:

Courtyard Madison East - Click to Book or Learn More


Fairfield Inn Madison East - Click to Book or Learn More

QUESTIONS?

Contact us at courses@darkaero.com for any questions about the course.