Composites-By-Design LLC was founded by Michael Milauskas in 2000 operating out of Mesa, Arizona while on assignment to the Boeing Company. Our initial product was a hybrid composite housing for a portable real-time 80Kv X-ray unit for use by US military and clandestine US agencies.
Currently under design and prototyping is a line of consumer and commercial furniture fabricated from carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), and accented with contrasting hardwoods.
The design intent is to create museum quality state-of-the-art CFRP furniture, without the outrageous prices demanded by others that work in this media. To do so, a proprietary vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) was developed, requiring no autoclave or oven.
Additionally, we are designing a line of portable lightweight insulated structures using FRP phenolic sandwich panels that are cost effective, easy to assembly and highly flame retardant. Our target market is remote wooded locations and homeless shelters.
Early Career
Michael has been involved in the manufacture of advanced composites for aerospace since the early 1980’s. His first assignment was with Amercom which fabricated the boron/aluminum metal matrix composites used for the mid-fuselage struts of the U.S. Space Shuttle.
Mid-fuselage Structure of Space Shuttle Orbiter showing Boron-aluminum Tubes (photo credit: NASA)
Past Career Highlights
Project Engineer for Northrop-Grumman’s Counter-Man-Portable Air Defense CFRP Fairing (photo credit: NGC)
Process Engineer for the manufacture of NASA’s Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier (photo credit: NASA)
Materials Engineer for NAVAIR with oversight of the V-22 Composite Proprotor (photo credit: Wikipedia)
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Qualifications
KHI Section 43 Center Fuselage Assembly in Nagoya, Japan (photo credit KHI)
In 2009, Michael completed a three-year auditing assignment with Boeing Commercial Airplane (BCA) in the Technical Integration SQ Group. The audits were mandated to qualify the 787 Dreamliner advanced composite wing and fuselage structure at multiple BCA partner and supplier sites throughout Asia, Europe and the US.
The audits included KHI Section 43 Center Fuselage and KAL Section 48 Aft Fuselage to BAC5657, BAC5578 primary composite structure for FHI Section 11 Wing Box upper and lower panels and BAC5317 secondary composite laminates and Nomex cored structure for the 747-8 fairings and the 787 Wingtip. Audited processes also included hand layup, resin infusion and hot drape forming.
Founded One Other Corporation
US Army’s RC-7 Crazy Hawk Airborne Low M Reconnaissance Aircraft (photo credit: Aeronautic Pictures)
Flightline Composite Structures, Inc. (FCS) was created in the 1990’s to supply mission critical antenna coupler boots to all US Air Force F-15 Fighter Squadrons for the TEWS Electronic Warfare Program Upgrade. FCS also developed the component design structure, materials and processes for carbon/epoxy equipment racks and workstations, FLIR sensor doors, MTI radar mounts and wingtips for the US Army’s RC-7 Crazy Hawk Airborne Low M Reconnaissance Mission.
Personal Life
As of 2024, Mr. Milauskas resides in Pacific Grove, California surrounded by some of the most awesome ocean & mountain scenery in the US. He maintains his product development lab in a suite at the Monterey Motorsport Park. He is currently consulting for Joby Aviation as they develop their composite manufacturing capabilities at the Marina Airport.
Before that, for twenty years, home base was Piney Point, Maryland, on the Potomac River.
He is an avid, but still learning, photographer and videographer, using Nikon mirrorless cameras. His travels have brought him to Japan, Korea, Spain and Italy for design inspiration and exploration.