Brent,
Yes, but that is a very different process. Airplanes are not made out of welded aluminum tubes. Modern airplanes are monocoques. Older airplanes were welded steel tubes.
Cowtowncobra,
Yes...like I said, they went to extremes. I even have a picture of the Scherader (sp) valve welded on the back of a 917 somewhere. They were nuts. Aluminum front hubs, aluminum cam gears, titanium everything else...
Fred,
Aluminum suspensions have been around for years and years without any problems. The problem is welding (and losing all the heat treat) aluminum tubes for frame structures. (Remember aluminum wheels take a tremendous beating but last the life of a car.) Strange, and others, have made aluimium pinion flanges for the Ford 9 in differential for years.
The props on almost all airplanes are made out of aluminum. Boat props are made out of aluminum. It is a great material...If you know what you are doing. It's all a matter of alloy choice and process.
However, welding aluminum changes the whole world. There are few who can do it right and it does save weight when done properly. (Just look at all the Japaneese Superbikes.) It is not something I would trust to be done by many people.
David
