Hawthorn Aero, Inc. Unveils New Brand and Expanded Manufacturing Capabilities, Honoring Dayton’s Aviation Legacy

On October 1, 2025 Spintech Holdings, Inc. (Spintech) is proud to be celebrating our 15 Year Anniversary. It has been a great journey with some challenges and pivots along the way, but through our incredible, dedicated team, our loyal partners, and our trusting customers, we can truly say that business has never been better.

We’ll be demonstrating the manufacturing process for the carbon fiber, upper and lower fuselage for the Zone 5 CLEAVER, a Cargo Launch Expendable Air Vehicle with Extended Range platform.

Hawthorn Composites created a Smart Tooling, Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) solution that created a two piece fuselage with overlapping flanges for assembly after population, that was initially used by Zone 5. The solution was then modified, based on Zone 5’s feedback on how to improve ease of population and assembly, to a Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) solution that produced an upper fuselage composite nose and a complete lower composite fuselage.

Spintech Holdings has now been in our new headquarters for nearly three years and we have added significantly to our talent, capabilities and overall efficiency.

We are showing the advantages of fabricating a RTM infusion foil and strut for the ORPC RivGen® Power System.

Through collaboration with ORPC and our partner, A&P Technology (A&P), we re-engineered the ORPC composite foil and strut to achieve the same structural results of the composite parts made by hand lay-up of pre-preg according to a detailed ply schedule with an autoclave cure to a custom braided, dry fiber ply schedule, combined with resin transfer molding of an industrial grade epoxy resin and an oven cure.

Hawthorn Composites, the Dayton-based manufacturer of high-performance structural composites, was awarded a structural inlet duct manufacturing contract from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. to provide twelve inlet ducts for the XQ-58A Valkyrie platform.

We used automated fiber preforms, lower cost epoxy resins, and resin transfer molding (RTM) to make high value composite shafts

To start, we designed the mold to be compatible with resin transfer molding and to meet the customers geometric requirements.

To achieve the complex design, a resin transfer molding (RTM) tool was designed that would meet the dimensional requirements and allow for the use of low-cost raw materials. 

Watch a demonstration of how Hawthorn Composites can create a carbon fiber co-cured wing structure using a combination of dry carbon fiber, braided sleevings, liquid infusion, and Smart Tools.

Structural inlet duct manufacturing contract from KRATOS Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. to provide twelve inlet ducts for the XQ-58A Valkyrie platform.

How to fabricate a 52” long by 12” diameter inlet duct for a tactical UAV at a lower cost.

Find out how switching from carbon fiber prepreg to resin transfer molding (RTM) can save 67% per composite fuselage

New composites manufacturing business division named Hawthorn Composites.