Engine pylon made from composite material

A load-bearing structure for attaching an engine to the wing of an aircraft, the load-bearing structure comprising:

• a monolithic, tubular first central structure formed of composite material and having a first end and a second end;
• at least one bulkhead formed of composite material and bonded to inner walls of the first central structure;
• a metal forward mount bonded to the first central structure by layers of composite material and mechanically fastened to at least one of the airframe structure and the engine;
• two side fittings bonded by layers of composite material to opposing portions of the first central structure and having portions for mechanically attaching to the wing;
• a lower fitting bonded by layers of composite material to a lower portion of the first central structure and having portions for mechanically attaching to at least one of the wing and the engine;
• an upper fitting bonded by layers of composite material to an upper portion of the first central structure and having portions for mechanically attaching to the wing;
• an I-beam extending between and integrated with upper and lower portions of the inner surface of the first central structure;
• and
• a close-out panel integrated with the first central structure at the second end of the first central structure for limiting exposure of internal structure to environmental effects.

A load-bearing structure for attaching an engine to the wing of an aircraft, the load-bearing structure comprising:

• a monolithic, tubular first central structure formed of composite material and having a first end and a second end;
• a metal forward mount bonded to the first central structure by layers of composite material and mechanically fastened to at least one of the airframe structure and the engine;
• a metal forward mount bonded to the first central structure by layers of composite material and mechanically fastened to the engine;
• a monolithic, tubular second central structure formed of composite material having a first end and a second end, wherein a portion of the second central structure is sized to fit inside and be integrated with a portion of the first central structure by at least one of bonding and mechanical fastening means;
• at least one bulkhead formed of composite material and bonded to inner surfaces of at least one of the first central structure and the second central structure;
• a plurality of central fitting components bonded to both the first central structure proximate the second end of the first central structure and the second central structure proximate the second end of the second central structure by layers of composite material, thereby bonding the second end of the first central structure to the second end of the second central structure;
• and
• an aft attachment fitting bonded to the first end of the second central structure for attaching the second central structure to the wing.