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Old Jun 7, 2019, 7:30 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: DenverBrian
From Wikipedia:
Speed Tape

Speed tape is an aluminium 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 sticking on an airplane fuselage or wing at high speeds, hence the name.
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What is "Speed Tape", is it "duct tape?"

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Old Apr 30, 2019, 12:12 am
  #1  
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B787-9 and “Duct Tape” on the wing

I’m sitting in ship 3950 looking out over the wing (24L) and noticed patches of a dark grey material on the wing. I’ve counted a dozen such patches on the left wing of varying sizes of a few square inches to over a square foot. I’d never noticed it before, but will keep my eye out in the future. I assume it’s a simple fix for slight bumps on the wing surface—normal wear and tear. Am I right?



A closer look.

An example of the “duct tape” patch.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 12:17 am
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_tape - nothing to worry about.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 12:46 am
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Yes it’s very special tape which costs I was told $500 a roll. Definitely not duct tape.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 4:22 am
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It's a fancy aluminum tape created for exactly this purpose.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 4:45 am
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Saw this A319 at ORD a few weeks back. From what I understand, using this tape is pretty common.

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Old Apr 30, 2019, 4:54 am
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Reminds me of a Pan Am 727 flight where I noticed the spoiler pulling apart on landing. I told the pilots and they were not impressed.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 5:35 am
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Back in January I saw an AA787 with "duck tape" around the windshield.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 6:17 am
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Originally Posted by mjg59
Thanks. It just looks a little garish.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 9:06 am
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Originally Posted by TomMM
Back in January I saw an AA787 with "duck tape" around the windshield.
Is duck tape applied after bird strikes?
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 9:18 am
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Originally Posted by transportprof
Is duck tape applied after bird strikes?


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Old Apr 30, 2019, 12:35 pm
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They used this all the time when I was in the Navy. I remember it being on some aircraft for months without needing replacement while we waited for new parts/repair scheduling (the supply chain is always the weakest part of the military).
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Old Jun 6, 2019, 10:31 pm
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Smile ERJ145 held together with duct tape?

We were delayed 30 minutes or so on a FSD to DEN flight a few days ago when the captain announced that some tape had come loose on the landing gear and that an engineer was on his way to remove the offending item and replace it.
Tape on the landing gear?
What function would this have that a flight can’t take off without it?
We landed safely so assume it must be pretty strong stuff.
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Old Jun 6, 2019, 10:41 pm
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Probably nt duct tape.

I would guess it's to keep something covered rather than two things stuck together.

Similar inquiry:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...tape-wing.html
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Old Jun 6, 2019, 10:56 pm
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Definitely not duct tape - but it is funny to think that it might be
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Old Jun 7, 2019, 1:51 am
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Honesty is not always the best policy . . . couldn't he just say they were waiting on some paperwork?
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