Patent ID: 8882040

Claim:
An aircraft fuselage aligned along a longitudinal axis, the aircraft fuselage comprising: a first composite skin extending 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis; a second composite skin positioned adjacent to the first composite skin and extending 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis; at least a first stiffener attached to the first composite skin; at least a second stiffener attached to the second composite skin; and a fitting extending across a first edge region of the first composite skin and a second edge region of the second composite skin, wherein a first end portion of the fitting is attached to the first composite skin and a second end portion of the fitting is attached to the second composite skin to join the first composite skin to the second composite skin and wherein the first edge region of the first composite skin includes a first portion of a window cutout, and the second edge region of the second composite skin includes a second portion of the window cutout.