Big, yes, there are several such composite materials, all falling into the category of Aramid. Dictionary definition of aramid is:
"Main Entry: ar·a·mid
Pronunciation: 'ar-&-m&d, -"mid
Function: noun
Etymology: aromatic polyamide
Date: 1972
: any of a group of lightweight but very strong heat-resistant synthetic aromatic polyamide materials that are fashioned into fibers, filaments, or sheets and used especially in textiles and plastics".
The Beech Starship used a few different kinds, mainly the "graphite" material, as well as kevlar around the fuel cells and of course, fiberglass (on the bottom of the list for strength). The big difference I've noticed between the composite firearm frames and the aircraft structures is, in aircraft, they tend to use the weave direction of the cloth to enhance the strenght characteristics in certain directions. I haven't noticed that on any firearms. Still, from what I've seen, the stuff is super tough. I have a Carbon-15 pistol that doesn't appear to have any of the quality problems Professional Ordnance became famous for. I'm in the process of building a 7.62X39 AR style pistol using a Tannery CMM lower and a (gasp) Hesse upper. This will be my first experince actually using anything from Hesse. I almost have to go that route as I have to stay under 50 oz limit for pistols of this type.
Hey 5sub, have you seen the Raytheon Aircraft (Beech) "Premier"? A lot of the Starship technology in that aircraft as well. I quit there about a year ago to do NDT/QA audits around the country. At the time I quit, there were selling the Premier for 5.5 million, but it was costing them 6.5 million to build.