Can your duct tape stick to an F/A 18 Hornet fighter jet flying at an airspeed of 500 knots? (Translation: 575 miles per hour). My duct tape sure can't. But I digress.
I first heard of speed tape (officially called 3M Aluminum Foil Tape 425) in a long reddit thread about the airline industry, where one contributor wrote, “It's a high-grade tape used to cover beads of set but uncured weather sealant (among other things) on the windscreens or cowls of planes, all the while rated and proven to stay put at up to 500 knots airspeed.”
From Wikipedia
“Speed tape is an aluminized pressure-sensitive tape used to do minor repairs on aircraft and racing cars. It is used as a temporary repair material until a more permanent repair can be carried out. It has an appearance similar to duct tape, for which it is sometimes mistaken, but its adhesive is capable of [adhering to] an airplane fuselage or wing at high speeds, hence the name.”
From 3M (manufacturer)
“Aluminum Foil Tape 425 [official name of speed tape] is a dead-soft aluminum foil backed tape with a special transparent synthetic acrylic adhesive, making this the best general purpose foil product available. This tape is ideal for masking, sealing, seaming, shielding, chemical stripping, harness wrapping, joining, electroplating, plastic protection, chemical milling, heat shielding, heat reflecting and paint stripping.”
Photo: What 500 knots looks like.
Speed Tape Recommended Uses:
- Aircraft paint stripping masking
- Moisture barrier in “white goods” appliances
- General purpose heat reflector and heat dissipator
- Mechanically holds wires and cooling coils in “white goods” appliances
- Repair tears on truck trailers and aircraft
- General purpose holding, patching, sealing applications-indoors and out
Price
3M will sell you a roll (3″ x 60 yards x 4.6 mil) Price: $101.87 (F/A-18 Hornet Blue Angel fighter jets sold separately).
No comments:
Post a Comment