guarantee the street sign’s effective use over 20 years.
In addition to corrosion resistance and conductivity (it provides lightning strike protection for wind turbines), FluoroGrip can integrate pigments and serve as a paint scheme. It is also non-toxic.
“Appliqué cost for an airplane is not much more than the cost of paint when elimination of environmental toxics like VOCs [volatile organic compounds] are considered,” Vargo adds. Add the lifecycle and superior protection against corrosion it provides and the appliqué becomes very viable.”
With little experience and just a scissors and carpet knife for tools, a crew can easily apply FluoroGrip, Vargo adds. Application is much like pealing a stamp off a page and applying it to an envelope—of course, on a much larger scale.
“We’ve coated an entire DoD fighter in about a day,” says Integument’s president. The aircraft was subsequently flown. “Then we removed the coating in less than a day.” Vargo adds that manufacturing companies seem to prefer the appliqué in two-foot (0.6- m) wide rolls. “It’s applied like wallpaper, overlapping at the seams,” he adds. “But you can’t see the seams; they blend.” He admits that purchasing his company’s film coating is “not cheap.” To cover just a four-foot (1.2-m) square sign with anti- graffiti and ultraviolet protection would cost $25. However, he adds that he would
Maintaining Appliqués FluoroGrip will not peal off an aircraft during flight, Vargo states. But he says his company has had “to work on making the material withstand cold temperatures [and] adhere to failure-mode requirements.” “At low temperatures, the FluoroGrip adhesive tends to ‘glassify,’ or become hard, and the skin could break loose,” he says. “We had to come up with a process so that instead of pealing off in cold temperatures, the appliqué breaks off in small, thumbnail-size pieces. Thus it won’t effect the aircraft’s performance; you have a clean surface and nothing flaps around.” Maintaining FluoroGrip is much the same as applying it initially, except the process would be done only where needed. Patches of the adhesive skin material would be cut and joined to the damaged area, again, like a postage stamp to an envelope. Vargo claims Integument currently is working on the development of kits that could be used for repair. “Appliqué rolls would be produced that fit different sections of the aircraft,” he adds. “There would be different appliqués because some sections
BIG ASS AIR POWER Comfort. Productivity. Safety.
Create a comforting breeze in the summer and reclaim lost heat in the winter with Powerfoil X Plus. Call us today learn what Big Ass Fans can do for your hangar. 877 BIG-FANS (877-244-3267) |
www.bigassfans.com
©2012 Delta T Corporation dba the Big Ass Fan Company. All rights reserved. May be covered by one or more of the following U.S. Patents: 6,244,821; 6,589,016; 6,817,835; 6,939,108; 7,252,478; 7,284,960; D587,799; D607,988 and other patents pending.
44 Aviation Maintenance |
avm-mag.com | April / May 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64