A curved composite aircraft frame, comprising: a multi-ply composite laminate comprising a layup of fiber reinforced resin plies assembled using a polar coordinate reference system defining the curvature of the frame, wherein each of the plies has a fiber orientation that is aligned within the polar coordinate reference system, and wherein at least certain of the laminate plies include unidirectional reinforcing fibers that are oriented substantially tangent at substantially all points along the curvature of the frame;; wherein the laminate includes: a web including a pad-up section for reinforcing the web, an inner chord integrally formed with the web and extending laterally outward from one end of the web, an outer chord adapted to be fastened to an aircraft outer skin, the outer chord being integrally formed with the web and extending laterally outward from the other end of the web in a direction opposite of that of the inner chord; in which the inner chord is tailored with a relatively high axial modulus for inner chord compression loading; the pad-up section is tailored with higher axial modulus than the inner chord, the web has a reduced thickness that is tailored with a lower axial modulus for inner shear load transfer; and the outer chord is tailored with a lower axial modulus for radial stiffness, fastener bearing and shear load transfer capability. a multi-ply composite laminate comprising a layup of fiber reinforced resin plies assembled using a polar coordinate reference system defining the curvature of the frame, wherein each of the plies has a fiber orientation that is aligned within the polar coordinate reference system, and wherein at least certain of the laminate plies include unidirectional reinforcing fibers that are oriented substantially tangent at substantially all points along the curvature of the frame;; wherein the laminate includes: a web including a pad-up section for reinforcing the web, an inner chord integrally formed with the web and extending laterally outward from one end of the web, an outer chord adapted to be fastened to an aircraft outer skin, the outer chord being integrally formed with the web and extending laterally outward from the other end of the web in a direction opposite of that of the inner chord; in which the inner chord is tailored with a relatively high axial modulus for inner chord compression loading; the pad-up section is tailored with higher axial modulus than the inner chord, the web has a reduced thickness that is tailored with a lower axial modulus for inner shear load transfer; and the outer chord is tailored with a lower axial modulus for radial stiffness, fastener bearing and shear load transfer capability. a web including a pad-up section for reinforcing the web, an inner chord integrally formed with the web and extending laterally outward from one end of the web, an outer chord adapted to be fastened to an aircraft outer skin, the outer chord being integrally formed with the web and extending laterally outward from the other end of the web in a direction opposite of that of the inner chord; in which the inner chord is tailored with a relatively high axial modulus for inner chord compression loading; the pad-up section is tailored with higher axial modulus than the inner chord, the web has a reduced thickness that is tailored with a lower axial modulus for inner shear load transfer; and the outer chord is tailored with a lower axial modulus for radial stiffness, fastener bearing and shear load transfer capability.