This work is inspired by the current European policies that aim to reduce plastic waste. This is especially true of the packaging industry. The biocomposites developed in the work belong to the group of environmentally friendly plastics that can reduce the increasing costs of environmental fees in the future. Three types of short fibers (flax, hemp and wood) with a length of 1 mm each were selected as fillers (30% mass content in PHBV). The biocomposites were extruded and then processed by the injection molding process with the same technical parameters. The samples obtained in this way were tested for mechanical properties and quality of the molded pieces. A significant improvement of some mechanical properties of biocomposites containing hemp and flax fibers and quality of molded pieces was obtained in comparison with pure PHBV. Only in the case of wood–PHBV biocomposites was no significant improvement of properties obtained compared to biocomposites with other fillers used in this research. The use of natural fibers, in particular hemp fibers as a filler in the PHBV matrix, in most cases has a positive effect on improving the mechanical properties and quality of molded pieces. In addition, it should be remembered that the obtained biocomposites are of natural origin and are fully biodegradable, which are interesting and desirable properties that are a part of the current trend regarding the production and commercialization of modern biomaterials.

High speed milling (HSM) is currently one of the most important technologies used in the aviation industry, especially concerning aluminium alloys. The difference between HSM and other milling techniques is the ability to select cutting parameters -depth of the cut layer, feed rate, and cutting speed, in order to simultaneously ensure high quality, precision of the machined surface, and high machining efficiency, all of which shorten the manufacturing process of the integral components. By implementing the HSM technology, it is possible to manufacture very complex integral thin-walled aerial parts from the full quantity of the rawmaterial. At present, aircraft structures are designed to mainly consist of integral elements which have been produced by welding or riveting of component parts in technologies utilized earlier in the production process. Parts such as ribs, longitudinals, girders, frames, coverages of fuselage and wings can all be categorized as integral elements. These parts are assembled into larger assemblies after milling. The main aim of the utilized treatments, besides ensuring the functional criterion, is obtaining the best ratio of strength to construction weight. Using high milling speeds enables economical manufacturing of integral components by reducing machining time, but it also improves the quality of the machined surface. It is caused by the fact that cutting forces are significantly lower for high cutting speeds than for standard machining techniques.

Subtracting manufacturing technologies have entered that realm of production possibilities which, even a few years ago, could not be directly adapted to direct production conditions. The current machines, i.e. heavy, rigid cutting machines using high spindle speed and high feed speed, allow for manufacturing very thin and relatively long parts for use in the automotive or aerospace industry. In addition, the introduction and implementation of new 70XX aluminium alloys with high strength parameters, as well as monolithic diamond cutting tools for special machining, have had a significant impact on the introduction of high-speed machining (HSM) technologies. The main advantage of the applied manufacturing method is obtaining a very good smoothness and surface roughness, reaching even Sz = 6–10 μm and Sa <3 μm , and about four times faster and more efficient machining compared to conventional machining (for the beam part). Moreover, fixed and repeatable milling process of the HSM method, reduction of operational control, easy assembly of components and increase in the finishing efficiency compared to other methods of plastic processing (forming) are other benefits. The authors present a method using HSM for the manufacturing of aircraft parts, such as the chassis beam at the front of a commuter aircraft. The chassis beam assembly is made of two parts, front and rear, which – through a bolted connection – form a complete element replacing the previous part made using traditional technology, i.e., cavity machining, bending and plastic forming. The implementation of HSM technology eliminates many operations related to the construction of components, assembling the components (riveting) and additional controls during construction and assembly.

This paper aims to describe an idea for an integration process and tests of flight parameters measurement system, which supports infrared thermography (IRT) boundary layer mapping. The study of flow changes in the boundary layer with the use of IRT requires registration of the thermal images of the selected area of a wing or the fuselage, as well as synchronous recording of flight parameters. These tasks were realized by the supplementary measurement system mounted on the PW-6U glider. Two examples of the determination of the laminar-turbulent transition areas on the left wing of a PW-6U glider are also presented in the paper. Optical methods can be used in several research areas, for example, aerodynamics and strength analysis. For instance, the measurement of the infrared radiation from surfaces with the use of IRT can be used for the measurement, with high accuracy, of surface temperature distribution. Moreover, the thermography is used for the analysis of the boundary layer. Performed in-flight experiments confirm the possibility of practical usage of the IRT method even on the board of a glider. The use of optical methods will, in many cases, be less expensive than assembly of an additional measurement and data acquisition systems. Implementation of optical methods for industrial purposes has many advantages, and, hence, they will probably become very common in the future. The study introduces advanced measurement and visualization techniques in general aviation.