GORE^® SKYFLEX^® Aerospace Materials

Aviation sealants can significantly impact aircraft availability, maintainability and overall costs. For example, traditional two-component materials, like a liquid polysulfide polymer sealant, involve extra process steps and may weaken and break down from mechanical forces and environmental factors. Standard spray-on aerospace coatings don’t necessarily provide adequate surface protection on airframe structures either. But Gore’s dry, lightweight aerospace materials and material technologies are proven more reliable while also quicker and easier to install.

GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials are protective films that effectively seal panels and protect surfaces from mechanical forces and harsh contaminants that can severely damage aircraft and helicopter structures. Unlike traditional light-cure materials for aerospace, our tapes and gaskets don’t require any cure time, which reduces installation steps and simplifies the process.

Why use aircraft sealing that is time-consuming, labor-intensive, delays production and maintenance schedules, and costs more overall? Optimize your aircraft or helicopter production and maintenance using our materials that provide reliable surface and sealing protection, increase availability and throughput, and reduce lifecycle costs.

Our aviation-approved materials for multiple defense and commercial aircraft are often used instead of form-in-place (FIP) wet seals. They’re available in a variety of FIP dry tapes and die-cut gaskets in various forms and sizes. Start by reviewing our portfolio below for your particular aircraft sealant application. 

Then, download our data sheet for specific widths, thicknesses, gap-filling compensation ranges, operating temperatures and more. If you have any questions or need help selecting the right series of our tapes or gaskets, contact us today.

Contact Us

Compare GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials against other dry tapes and wet sealants to better understand how each sealant performs in specific environments.

We also invite you to read our article on improving aircraft availability with alternative FIP sealants.

Unlike low-temperature cure materials for aircraft, GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials are manufactured with unique features that make them more durable against challenging environmental factors and aircraft conditions, including:

• chemically inert, non-hazardous materials
• temperature- and abrasion-resistant materials
• dry, lightweight, highly conformable materials
• available in a variety of material sets, forms and sizes

For design engineers, material handling installers or mechanics, our tapes and gaskets provide many benefits that simplify aircraft assembly, increase availability and throughput, and reduce lifecycle costs, like:

• reliable, predictable sealing/surface protection and gap-filling
• proven resistance against mechanical forces, wide temps, chemicals, fuels and more
• easier, quicker installation with fewer process steps and no cure time
• less replacements, rework and lifecycle costs with reusable seals
• no operator certification, training or special material handling required
• low environmental impact and improved safety with non-hazardous materials

As one of the industry’s foremost aerospace materials suppliers, we thoroughly test GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials to meet many strict requirements, like SAE AMS3255. 

They’re routinely specified by leading aircraft OEMs because of their proven reliable performance for decades in a variety of applications, like:

• access panels (wing, fuel, LE/TE & dry bay) 
• floorboards & structures (cargo seal & passenger area seal)
• engine cowlings
• external fuel tank sealer
• fairings
• fuel bladder cavities 
• helicopter tail boom covers 
• wing D-Noses 
• lighting assemblies

Our materials are approved for use on many fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft from OEMs like Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Comac and Embraer. Below are Technical Order (T.O.) approvals when using our materials in aircraft as military aerospace seals.

Download our application guides providing examples using our tapes and gaskets, specific T.O. approvals, material requirements and locations for installing our materials in military aircraft.

• F-16 aircraft
• KC-135 aircraft
• Helicopters

Wet process installation involves extra time-consuming and labor-intensive steps that can make it difficult to meet production targets, maintenance schedules and budgets. But applying aircraft sealant is much easier and faster using GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials. 

Our tapes and gaskets eliminate process steps because there’s no mixing, masking, curing or re-assembling panels. There’s also no special handling required, cleanup after installation or hazardous waste disposal. They’re reusable and compliant over multiple open/close cycles, meaning you can easily remove aircraft panels during inspection without replacing or reworking our materials — unlike an epoxy polysulfide sealant.

Download our step-by-step aircraft sealant and gasket installation guides. You can also watch videos for installing, removing or repairing our materials based on our aircraft sealing methods.

• Tapes
• Gaskets
• Inspect, Reuse & Repair

Our videos are available in multiple languages on YouTube. Or, call if you have any questions about installing aircraft sealants from Gore in your specific application.

GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials are non-hazardous, improving environmental and operator safety. Our tapes and gaskets comply with global environmental regulations set forth by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Before using our types of aircraft sealant in your application, carefully review our recommended standard practices below to reduce exposure to decomposition by-products. 

• Series 100 & 110 Tapes
• Series 200 Tapes & Gaskets
• Series 500 Gaskets
• Series 520 Gaskets
• Series 700 Tapes & Gaskets
• Series 720 Tapes & Gaskets
• Series 730 Tapes & Gaskets
• Series 1600 Tape & Gaskets

For several decades, our materials have reliably protected defense and civil aircraft structures, which is why leading OEMs continue to specify them. They’re approved for use on many aircraft that use polymers in aerospace applications. We offer an assortment of dry, lightweight tapes and die-cut gaskets in various forms and sizes to accommodate many applications.

If you’re ready to buy our materials, contact us or an authorized distributor today. For military aircraft, view our part numbers with corresponding National Stock Numbers (NSNs) that can also be ordered through U.S. Defense Logistics Agency channels.

Alternatively, we can work closely with you to evaluate the parameters of your application and recommend the appropriate tape or gasket series.