A foreign passenger was shocked to discover that airport maintenance staff had taped the engine casing before the plane took off. The scene was filmed and posted on the internet, raising concerns and questions about the safety implications of using tape to repair airframes. However, there is in fact tape that can be used for aviation maintenance, mainly for surface repair and temporary maintenance, and it does not affect flight safety.
So the next time you happen to be in a situation like this, you can give everyone around you a good talking to. This is not just any tape, but a type of aluminium foil tape that can be used to temporarily repair non-stressed areas of an aircraft's surface, in particular to repair paintwork and strengthen seals. For example, if an aircraft's paintwork has peeled off during a flight, it can be repaired temporarily by applying aluminium foil tape to keep the aircraft safe for flight and prevent corrosion on the surface. However, this repair is limited to the surface of the aircraft and has nothing to do with the structure of the aircraft. It is also only used for temporary repairs and at the end of a phase of the mission, the aircraft will still need to be professionally repaired with paintwork!
In addition, we can also make use of the various properties of aluminium foil tape in our daily lives, for example, when installing power supplies, the tape can be applied to reflect light, thus protecting yourself from thermal energy burns and maximising efficiency; it can also be applied to the plugging and sealing of holes at rivets in cabinets and the sealing of airbags in cars against moisture.