Abstract: An external composite wrap (34) of composite fibers (36) is added to the flap flexure portion (14) of a flexbeam (10), which is composed of predominantly unidirectional fibers (32) extending along the length of the flexbeam in (vertically) stacked layers (31). The fibers of the external wrap are disposed at an angle to the unidirectional ply fibers. The external wrap serves to reduce the interlaminar shear stresses in the unidirectional plies and increase the torsional stiffness of the flap flexure portion without significantly increasing the flexural stiffness of the flexbeam. The latter is accomplished by tailoring the thickness of the external wrap relative to flexbeam station (longitudinal position) and optimizing the angle of the external wrap fibers.