Is this an acceptable amount of duct tape holding this winglet on?

I’d ask my dad, a retired airline mechanic, but I am out of state at the moment. I looked out the window this morning of the flight I was on, and saw what looked like a voluminous quantity of tape. I even nudged my neighboring passenger and asked her if that looked like tape on the wing. Is this really some type of tape repair? Does it just look worse than it really is?

That just a distraction.............To keep you from looking at the engine.

Although I worked around helicopters for a few months, I'm not an aircraft mechanic. My guess would be that the tape (if it is tape) is covering a small hole, tear or other damage. The structural integrity, i.e., holding the part to the wing, would not be affected, otherwise there would be a lot more tape.

I'm curious myself now and have nothing better to do, so let me ask somebody. Do you know the aircraft type? The last time I flew was 1994, but I remember them telling us what we were flying on as part of the safety talk.

Who would’ve thought that duct tape would replace baling wire?

We call it 100 MPH tape. Speed tape is it's professional name.
And yes for a temporary repair.

I've rented Cessnas with it on broken fiberglass parts.

It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads....

I miss my free supply of this back in the day. I finally used up my last roll a few years ago.

http://www.bscsource.com/Produ...NSN8909874/p10148484

It's covering a small crack in the plastic to prevent it from vibrating.

quote:

Originally posted by jmorris:
It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads....

“I think it’s the bypass line, yeah.”

quote:

Originally posted by dusty3030:
I miss my free supply of this back in the day. I finally used up my last roll a few years ago.

http://www.bscsource.com/Produ...NSN8909874/p10148484

That's the stuff the Wright Brothers used.

Walmart has the good stuff.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-...2-G9182881/172287433

Assuming it is tape, the pattern looks funny, it is not holding the winglet on. That is a temporary repair for some sort of small damage. Could be a crack, composite erosion, etc. however, due to location it is likely lightning strike damage (small burn marks from exit). The tape is applied to prevent water ingress until final repairs are competed. The manufactures allow continued operations with some of these types of damages (depending on severity and location) for a defined amount of time. The engineering analysis that is performed is extensive and it is perfectly safe.

I'm an aircraft mechanic.

Believe it or not, duct tape does have a place in aviation repair, but not what's indicated in the picture.

It looks like missing paint, to me.

I seem to recall Mythbusters skinned an entire airplane in Duck tape...

Honestly it looks like they repaired that area and have a primer coat of paint on it.

Either way, I'm sure it'll be fiiiinnnnnnnne... I mean, what could go wrong...?

The good news is I think winglets reduce drag and don't hold the plane aloft.

My former neighbor did line service for a major airline. Given my degree in aircraft engineering we had a lot in common.

He told me about this once. The winglets reduce drag and improve wing efficiency, they are not a critical component and are apparently lost in flight more than you'd think. It was not uncommon for them to repair with high strength tape until the winglet could be replaced.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
I'm an aircraft mechanic.

Believe it or not, duct tape does have a place in aviation repair, but not what's indicated in the picture.

It looks like missing paint, to me.

Yep. pretty sure it's not tape. It looks as if it were taped off and B-1/2 was applied, smoothed out and the tape removed. Which would be an acceptable application after a repair until depot or home station repairs can be accomplished.

Speed tape is generally shiny.

The photo isn't clear enough but I suspect it is a structural epoxy repair that hasn't been refinished.

That's fine. If it's scotch tape, then you worry.

In the Navy we would use “1000 mile an hour” tape (Grey tape) on E2C Hawkeyes and C2 Greyhounds. . Lol