[.041 Safety Wire]

The aluminium used in aircraft construction is not pure it is typically an alloy of the 2000 series, specifically 2024 T-3. The main alloying agents are copper and magnesium plus manganese with some silicon. The copper provides ductility so it can be formed. The T-3 designates the factory temper. The aluminium if in sheet form is Alclad which means that it has a minute layer of pure alum on the surface to provide for corrosion resistance. 7000 series alum has also been used in construction. In modern jets as stated above a lot of the material is composites such as graphite and carbon fiber and bonded honeycomb or in the case of the SR-71 both composite and titanium were used during construction.


http://www.makeitfrom.com/data/?material=2024_Alum

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD ... tTRDoc.pdf