Planning on flying soon?

[Hogtamer]

You may want to watch this….
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/watch-spirit-airlines-duct-tapes-plane-takeoff

[Lakehouse2012]

Hopefully Lufthansa doesn't do this, I am flying to Europe in a week...

Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk

[pworley1]

Duct tape was probably stronger than the aluminum foil he was putting it on.

[megasupermagnum]

All airlines do that, and it's not basic duct tape.

[Winger Ed.]

First- it isn't duct tape, and you can't buy it at the local hardware store.
It's a metal foil tape designed just for doing that.

Depending on where it is, and what it covers-- it's no big deal.
And not just anybody determines if or what it can be used on.
On a commercial airliner,
it'll be someone pretty far up on the food chain that also holds a Airframe and Power Plants license from the FAA.
FAA licenses for operating or working on airplanes are real hard to get, and very easy to lose.

However, to make it sound sensational:
You're led to believe they're using it to hold the structure of the airframe together,
keep a wing from falling off, or secure/tighten up an engine mount.
If ya believe that---- the joke is on you.

[MUSTANG]

Theres a reason they call it 1000 mile an hour tape.

[Winger Ed.]

Theres a reason they call it 1000 mile an hour tape.

Depending on how big, and where it was, we used it to cover certain cracks on helicopter rotor blades.
It got painted to match the blade, and stayed on until the blade went 'high time' and came due for its re-work cycle.

[farmbif]

there are all kinds of tapes used for airplanes, speed tape, prop tape, patch tape, leading edge tape. and none of them are cheap.
im pretty sure unless your ultra lite or experimental your A&E mechanic has to put any and all applications in the log books and they are ultimately responsible for proper surface prep and application.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php

[MaryB]

Used Gorilla duct tape on a friends front plastic cover around the headlights/bumper/front of the car... someone backed into her and broke all the mounting points on one side. Now this is a rolling wreck car, nothing fancy, 300k miles... a junker. That was 5 years ago... it is just starting to peel off...

[Gator 45/70]

Depending on how big, and where it was, we used it to cover certain cracks on helicopter rotor blades.
It got painted to match the blade, and stayed on until the blade went 'high time' and came due for its re-work cycle.

Same here taped blades, now when it started coming loose at high rpm's you had yourself a nice bullwhip noise

[frkelly74]

Never use Spirit Airlines. I had a very unpleasant experience trying to get home after breaking my arm and changing my ticket to an earlier flight. It was truly miserable.

[BD]

You do realize that planes used to be made of fabric over a lightweight steel frame? This is the classic airplane/duct tape story:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7PUw4ZZFA8

[Winger Ed.]

You do realize that planes used to be made of fabric over a lightweight steel frame?


Until the 1930s or so, metal skin was kind of rare, and Alum. was crazy expensive.
There was a lot of wood and bamboo frame work on the old birds too.

I've done a little work on WWI aircraft-- Except around the engine and some tensioning cables,
they didn't have enough metal on them to fill a 5 gallon bucket.

[Hogtamer]

Let’s see….planes in earlier years of aviation didn’t fly 7 miles high or 600 mph. It’s tape! Holding the engine cowling. Tape I say! He cut it with a pocket knife he got out of his pocket. Somehow I don’t believe that is in the commercial airline maintenance manual��*��

[Winger Ed.]

Somehow I don’t believe that is in the commercial airline maintenance manual��*��


Well, yeah it is. However; The truth doesn't stand a chance against a good myth.

[frkelly74]

Spruce goose>>>>>

[Stewbaby]

My father retired from Delta in 1995. He’d been bring home what he called “1,000 mile an hour” tape for home use since 1975 at least.

It’s been used on probably every big jet with any reasonable air time on the frame.

Dad always called them “flying beer cans”

[Big Tom]

The pilot and copilot will see and maintenance/repair in the log book - and trust me, both of them want to survive their next flight as well. So, if there is anything not looking right, they will not fly...

[Winger Ed.]

The pilot and copilot will see and maintenance/repair in the log book - and trust me, both of them want to survive their next flight as well. So, if there is anything not looking right, they will not fly...


A pilot told me once that why they're real careful about what shape a plane is in before they will fly it.
He said that in the event of a crash, the pilots are always the first ones there.

[MaryB]

Some modern adhesives are strong! As in hold your car together strong! Yes your car is held together with strips of double sided tape! Fenders aren't bolted on anymore, roof panel is often taped in place... even some unibody frames are now being made with double sided tape! I have a roll around here somewhere... needed to mount something in my pickup so used a strip of that. Lasted the 8 years I had the truck... on the dash in full sun, thru MN -30f winter temps... conditions that make most tapes fail.

3M VHB(very high bond) tapes... use that adhesive under aluminum tape and it is NOT coming off.

[imashooter2]

Alabama chrome. :bigsmyl2:

[kevin c]

Ouch, that 3M VHB double sided tape is pricey.

Looked it up: over $80 bucks a roll and that’s for only a measly 15 feet.

[missionary5155]

My wife and I watched a right wing jet engine rear "cone" get beat back onto the engine with a large piece of heavy lumber. This was a Peruvian owned aircraft sitting on the tarmac shortly before the passengers were boarded for the return flight from Arequipa to Lima. Roughly 600 miles.
Local company that had a history of aircraft failures. We never flew with them.

[jimlj]

My Spirit airline flight last week arrived safely duct tape and all.

[Finster101]

I'll take the word of the aviation guys on here. Hey Winger, I was in DC this week and saw what I presumed to be Marine One a couple of times since we were right near the WH. Nice place to visit, don't want to live there.