In article ,
says...
Earlier Eric wrote
Not really. Wood is a material used "as is", while composite aircraft
mix at least two materials together; e.g., epoxy and fiberglass.
Gluing or bolting materials together doesn't qualify as "composite

But Eric, How about the plywood that we use in our wooden gliders? Doesn't that
qualify as a composie? I like to think that Howley Bowlus was the first to use
modern composite techniques when he laid 3 very thin sheets of mahogany veneer
into a concrete mold. These sheets were laid in at 45 degrees to each other
with glue between each. I believe he also added some heat bafore the male plug
was forced into the female mold.

What you describe is a molding technique using distinct pieces of
wood, not composite materials. Molding is not a new idea, of course.

Is plywood defined somewhere as a composite? To me, it's not a
composite because it's just one material, glued together in distinct
layers, not in a matrix like fiberglass and epoxy.

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Eric Greenwell
Richland, WA (USA)