how come they dont build planes out of the same material that they use for the little black box?

Answer 1

The "black box" is actually bright orange, so it can be found easily. It's made of quarter inch thick stainless steel, while the skin of a plane is made of aluminum about 28/1000 of an inch thick. If the plane were built of materials even 1/10 the strength of the black box, it could never get off the ground.

Even if you could make a plane out of concrete and steel I-beams, and somehow get it to fly, if it hits the ground at 100mph, it's going to get crunched, no matter how strong it is. That energy has to go *somewhere*, and a good portion of it will go into the plane's structure.

Answer 2

Ok planes are build from aluminuim alloys, becuase aluminuim is extremely ductile, light weight and very resistant to corrosion. hence it is used to build planes which need strength, light weight and durability.
then black box is not a aerospace term per say. It is more like a casual reference to a group of instruments and different devices used in transportation. It i scolored black to also make it easier to find in case of a crash. Black box is more a humorous cadigan than an accurate term, and almost never used within the flight safety industry. It is made of heavier and more stronger materials which are not necessarily light weight, or ductile. They have high levels of hardness.
I think the question should be if the black box can be made of the same material as a plane. Because just to get the aerodynamic lift we need light material which doesnt break easily.

Answer 3

Actually the "black box" IS made of some of the same materials from which the plane is made. But consider the structural integrity of the plane vs. the black box (not actually black like one of the answerers said) What is going to break up in a crash-a small very stiff box that is designed to take high impacts, or the plane designed to fly and hopefully take such impacts?

Answer 4

The electronics in the black box can survive extreme deceleration that would kill passengers and crew. Also it can survive deep underwater without a supply of oxygen, food or water. So building a plane the same way wouldn't improve your survival prospects very much.

Answer 5

An airplane has to be made of light materials or else it would be too heavy to fly properly. The "black box" is made of strong materials so it will survive an accident.

Answer 6

Do you even know what the little black box is made of?
its most likely made of thick steel encased in insulation then more steel.

If they made the whole plane out of it it would be way too heavy to move not even mentioning flying.

Answer 7

Because flying it would greatly increase our dependence on imported oil and global warming. Same reason we don't all drive tanks.

Answer 8

i've heard the black box isn't even black