This is not cheap, appears as it would save hunreds of hours high-performance-tape

[hogheadv2]

http://www.lamatek.com/catalogs/hvac...nce-tape.shtml

77 to over 100 pounds per sq inch tension, 49 to 79 lb sq in. Dynamic shear, static shear 65-97 lb sq in.
Put a panel in place and it's held. Half the rivets and cleos to deal with. A few to choose from, from what I see plan on $270 to $320 a box of 10 rolls. But if time is money, sealing joints and preventing chaffing and rivets getting loose this may be a fantastic investment. window seals, air ducts, So many uses come to mind. This company also supplies bump stops foam tapes , speaker feet, 2 sided foam tape for electronic installs.

Hoghead.

[Matt Gonitzke]

Surely you can't be suggesting replacing rivets on an aircraft with that, right?

[hogheadv2]

My plan may reduce rivets by 1/3. I am looking at once the panel is fit. No cleco's or just a very few would be needed. With careful one time placement. Pattern work around the panel / part [ drill, de-burr, rivet ] with a water proof bond.

*** This is not unlike the method used for aluminum boats, here in the North 40 year old boats beaten by the rivers and left out all winter, wipe out the leaves and serve to fish in the spring is a daily sight. BTW my 14 ft has 53" beam and weights 142lbs with three aluminum bench seats.

That kind of durability would comfort me in the sky.

[Matt Gonitzke]

This isn't a boat, it's an airplane. The stresses experienced by an aluminum boat are far less than those that an aircraft must be designed for. You have no hard data for the durability of the adhesive bond as it ages, nor do you have any idea how conservative or unconservative the data from their website is.

If you have a riveted joint in 0.025" 2024-T3 sheet, 1/8" AD rivets at 4D spacing, and you omit every 3rd rivet and put a 2" wide piece of tape over the top of the lap joint, you have a joint with at least 25% LESS strength than the riveted joint, and this is assuming that a) you are using the tape with the highest adhesive shear strength and b) the shear capability of the adhesive carrier material is greater than the adhesive itself, the latter of which is probably not a good assumption. If the material thickness is greater than 0.025", the strength reduction is even greater. You'll probably have a weight increase, too, as there's no way that tape is going to be lighter than 1/3 of the rivets in the joint.

Duct tape is for duct work. Not airplanes...

[jjhoneck]

I think Hoghead is talking about using this method to achieve an improved look for his panel, not for anything structural.

[brian_thomas]

> Duct tape is for duct work. Not airplanes...

[Matt Gonitzke]

Brian, I figured somebody would dig up those pictures. The OP doesn't have a fabric-covered bushplane in Alaska requiring a one-time emergency repair. Totally different situation.

jjhoneck-

Perhaps he'll clarify for us, but when someone starts quoting strength data and says things like "that kind of durability would comfort me in the sky" it sure sounds like he's intending to use it for structural applications. Even if not, I'd hate to have somebody stumble across this thread and think it's ok to do something like that on a structural joint.

[hogheadv2]

This is a 2 sided tape, to join the parts and make a waterproof bond. The information page states it is intended to replace mechanical fasteners such as rivets, screws, spot welds....
***Sharing a useful construction method and unless it come from an aircraft manufacture every body here shits on it.
Apparently Experimental should be removed from the forum listings.... "Where can I get stuff for free?" "That will never work" is more fitting. for the Free thinkers here who are afraid to learn the math.

SilverTape® offers superior high bond strength and can replace mechanical fasteners like rivets, screws, spot welds and liquid adhesives on a variety of substrates. - See more at: http://www.lamatek.com/catalogs/hvac....odAcExoF.dpuf


http://www.lamatek.com/catalogs/hvac...asteners.shtml

[Frank Giger]

I guess it would all come down to application.

Heck, I've got some aluminum duct tape in my airplane build! I used it over the boxes I put behind the aileron hinges for a more robust seal to help stave off some drag.

Super industrial tape to help secure a panel? Depends on the panel. On my little Nieuport, the panel is a tiny thing of sheet aluminum that isn't really structural. Don't know on weight savings, though - one would have to weigh the tape versus the same in rivets; my guess it would be a wash.

Would I use tape to secure my cowling? Um, no. Nor would I use it instead of rivets for holding the hinges for my access panels.

Then again, who knows? Think of what the conversations were like when some joker said that the best way to attach fabric to an airframe was with a super new kind of glue!

[Matt Gonitzke]

This is a 2 sided tape, to join the parts and make a waterproof bond. The information page states it is intended to replace mechanical fasteners such as rivets, screws, spot welds....
***Sharing a useful construction method and unless it come from an aircraft manufacture every body here shits on it.
Apparently Experimental should be removed from the forum listings.... "Where can I get stuff for free?" "That will never work" is more fitting. for the Free thinkers here who are afraid to learn the math.

SilverTape® offers superior high bond strength and can replace mechanical fasteners like rivets, screws, spot welds and liquid adhesives on a variety of substrates. - See more at: http://www.lamatek.com/catalogs/hvac....odAcExoF.dpuf


http://www.lamatek.com/catalogs/hvac...asteners.shtml

You didn't even read my post. I ran the numbers and showed you why it wouldn't work. Sure, it can replace mechanical fasteners in things like ductwork. Just because their information page says something doesn't mean it's universally applicable to everything in existence...