Overview

Reliable Sealing & Surface Protection

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.

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Gore’s sealing & surface protection materials offer short and fast installations with no mess.

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.

Tapes & Gaskets

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.

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GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Tapes

Environmental Sealing

We designed these tapes to provide effective sealing and surface protection against environmental contaminants and mechanical forces, like vibration, abrasion, chafing and corrosion.

  • 700 Series: Offers the best combination of material properties for most environmental sealing applications, like access panels and leading edges.
  • 200 Series: Great for sealing applications that require gap filling greater than 1 mm (0.04 in), like composite fay surfaces and floorboards.
  • 110 Series: Our ribbed tape is ideal for applications with big gaps and/or very low compressive forces, like access panels and floorboards.
 Gore's 110 Series aircraft windshield tape.

 

Surface Protection

This aircraft and helicopter sealant protects surfaces from abrasion, cut-through, vibration, chafing and corrosion.

Our 700 Series excels at protecting aircraft structures from high vibration or repeated access, like helicopter panels and wing-to-body fairings. This anti-chafe tape for aircraft has been proven to prevent significant damage on helicopter structures.

 Gore’s 700 Series tape.

Hydraulic & Engine Oil Protection

Our tapes provide superior sealing and surface protection against harsh aviation fluids and other mechanical forces.

The 700 and 720 Series tapes are mainly resistant to hydraulic or engine oil contamination and deicing fluids. They’re an ideal choice for fluid system protection in military aircraft. They also provide excellent protection against vibration, abrasion and chafing.

 Gore's 700 & 720 tape series for jet engine seals.

Fuel Sealing Protection

This aircraft fuel tank sealant provides exceptional sealing and surface protection against hydrocarbons and other mechanical forces

Our 720 Series is designed precisely for aircraft areas with direct and repeated exposure to fuels and related oils. It performs best on access panels and other fay surfaces subjected to fuel or engine oil splashing. For continuous fuel sealing, we recommend our jet gasket and seal. This tape also durably protects airframe structures from vibration, abrasion and chafing.Gore’s 720 Series high-heat gasket tape.

 

GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Gaskets

Environmental Sealing

These gaskets provide excellent sealing and surface protection against environmental contaminants and mechanical forces, like vibration, abrasion, chafing and corrosion. They can be easily installed on applications that have complex shapes.

  • 700 Series: This high-temp gasket tape offers the best combination of material properties for most applications and great for applications with high compressive forces. They excel at protecting aircraft structures from high vibration or repeated access, like wing-to-body fairings and access panels.
  • 500 Series: Ideal for applications that require gaskets over 482.6 mm (19 in.) or gaps greater than 1 mm (0.04 in). They’re ideal for protecting access panels and wing-to-body fairings.
 Gore’s 500 Series airplane tape.

Surface Protection

Our gaskets are designed to protect surface edges from abrasion, cut-through, vibration, chafing and corrosion. They can be easily installed on applications that have complex shapes.

  • 700 Series: Excels at protecting aircraft structures from high vibration or repeated access, like helicopter panels and wing-to-body fairings.
  • 500 Series: Ideal for applications that require gaskets over 482.6 mm (19 in.) or gaps greater than 1 mm (0.04 in).
 Gore’s 700 Series gasket.

Fuel Sealing Protection

For applications exposed to jet fuel and other mechanical forces, these jet seals excel at sealing and protecting aircraft surfaces.

  • 720 Series: Designed precisely for areas with direct and repeated exposure to fuels and related oils. It performs best on access panels and other fay surfaces subjected to continuous exposure to fuels or engine oils. This jet sealant gasket also durably protects aircraft structures from vibration, abrasion, corrosion and chafing.
  • 520 Series: Ideal for applications that require gaskets over 457.2 (18 in.) with continuous exposure to fuels or engine oils.
Gore’s 720 Series gasket tape.Gore's 520 gaskets series for aircraft engine seals.

 

Dry vs. Wet Sealants

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.

Purpose Gore’s Tapes & Gaskets Polysulfide Wet Seals Polyurethane Tapes Standard PTFE Tapes Gel Tapes
Surface Protection ✅ ⚠️ ✅ ✅ ⚠️
Environmental Sealing ✅ ✅ 🚫 🚫 ✅
Wide Temperature Range ✅ ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅
Highly Conformable/
Gap Filling		 ✅ ✅ 🚫 🚫 ✅
Stays under Compression/
No Squeeze Out		 ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅ 🚫
Non-Curing ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅ ✅
Easier/Faster Installation ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅ ✅
Reusable Seals ✅ 🚫 🚫 ⚠️ 🚫
Non-Hazardous ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅ ✅
Improved Safety ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅ ✅
No Special Equipment/PPE ✅ 🚫 ✅ ✅ ✅

 

Features & Benefits

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

Applications & Guides

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.

  • A-10
  • B-1B
  • B-52
  • C-5
  • C-17
  • C-130
  • E-3
  • EA-6B
  • E-6
  • F-5
  • F-15
  • F-16
  • F-35
  • H-53
  • KC-135
  • T-45
  • V-22

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.

Installation & Maintenance

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.

Installation Guides
Instructional Videos
Application/Purpose Environmental Sealing Special Environmental Sealing Surface Protection
Straight/Curved Video Video —
Corners/Joints Video Video —
Floorboards Video — —
Anti-Chafe/Galvanic Isolator — — Video
Fuel Sealing Video — —
Gaskets Video — —
Compilation Video — —
Complete Installation — Video —
Repairs/Clean Up Video — —

 

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.

Safety Information

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. 

How to Buy

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.

Purchase our materials through an authorized distributor.
Look up our part numbers for defense fixed-wing NSN.
Look up our part numbers for defense helicopter NSN.
Talk with a Gore representative today about your application.

Resources

GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials

Data Sheet: GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials

Data Sheets, 1.45 MB

Defense Aircraft With GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials

NSN List for Defense Aircraft: GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials

Part Number Information, 167.07 KB

Form-in-place Seals Article

Article: Form-in-Place Seals — Improving Aircraft Availability with Alternative Sealants

Industry Articles, 491.62 KB

Military Helicopter With GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials

NSN List for Defense Helicopters: GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials

Part Number Information, 134.81 KB

View all resources for GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials

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