Drag reducing coatings for airlines..

Releasing your inner zen and using the power of Lotus blossums..
Boeing and NASA trialling new coatings.

a reply to: Blackfinger

And a few years ago it was all about shark skin coatings. From my understanding the main issue is durability of the coating.

More recently there have been paint based approaches, where you'll have to repaint the aircraft about twice as often as with normal paint to retain the drag reducing capability.

But then there is also the marketing guys not being happy about the dull look of this coatings, lol.

a reply to: moebius

I have nonstick diamond coated pots/pans -- way, WAY better than that old teflon junk. Those Germans really know how to make a nonstick pan.

Anyway, wouldn't a good nonstick coating be useful to an airplane?

a reply to: MystikMushroom



Just wash and wax the @#$%# planes,what,are the airlines lazy?

a reply to: Blackfinger

They tried this many years ago but couldn't come up with a way to keep the wing clean enough then. They used one of the F-16XLs with a sleeve over one wing.

a reply to: Blackfinger

There is a product that has been out for many years called "Fast Wing" ... It is one of the best polishes money can buy and on aircraft (depending on the drag and horse power) you will see an increase in climb and cruise speed. I used it on all my aircraft and Rare Bear was starting to use it before the bird was destroyed in an accident..

I did not believe it was possible yet on my Dad's Cherokee after applying we got 500 ft + rate of climb increase and 5 to 7 mph increase in speed at a cruise power setting.. Dad had purchased a bottle and was telling me how great the product was supposed to be... Of course I had serious doubts but we took his aircraft up and wrote down climb and cruise figures then we applied Fast Wing.. The difference was very noticeable even in the Cherokee..

I started using it there after as did many of my friends.. Fast Wing was out of Florida and he shipped all over the world..

He may be dead now for this was back in the early 90s..

a reply to: 727Sky

I will have to check that out. Never heard of it, even going back to the mid-90s when I started flying. It's summer, so time to degrease the belly, wash, and wax the plane. We've always just used Turtle Wax.

originally posted by: cmdrkeenkid
a reply to: 727Sky

I will have to check that out. Never heard of it, even going back to the mid-90s when I started flying. It's summer, so time to degrease the belly, wash, and wax the plane. We've always just used Turtle Wax.

FAST WING PAINT SEALANT

I did a simple Google search and it looks like aircraft Spruce is selling the product at a greatly increased rate.

T-500 Paint Sealant with PTFE-M is more than a wax or polish. T-500 provides a tough, long-lasting, mirror-like finish that protects paint longer. Works great on aircraft, cars and boats. Fast Wing will increase performance by reducing parasitic drag. The performance of the aircraft actually increased due to the slick surface the Teflon Sealant left on the paint. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

I would look around but... I am glad the product is still available.. No one I have ever met has been disappointed with their results even with a brand new paint job...... it seals the pours of the paint. A towel will not stay on a wing... usually it just slide off. No kidding ! PLUS FOR SHOW AIRCRAFT IT GIVES A REALLY DEEP DEEP SHINE.. No I have nothing to do with the company...don't own stock... Just think it is one of the best products available for aircraft... I even put it on some of my cars.... Super shine..

Pretty cool that they are looking at the lotus flowers and their ability to shed water. I do think that science has used nature in great ways before, such as building football helmets to be similar to the skull of a woodpecker. This one seems like it may not be a winner though....lotus flowers are rarely hurtling through the air at 500 MPH...I would imagine this coating will last about as long as the others they have used over the years.

a reply to: 727Sky

Thanks for the info! I was on my ATS through my phone earlier, then we were making the trek from the UP down to Detroit.

Just found the website... Went to the order page... Linked me to Amazon... And it's currently unavailable.

Womp womp.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

Says it's in stock here:

www.aircraftspruce.com...

It's over $50 there. How much is it normally?

a reply to: Sammamishman

I used to pay 27$ retail but when I was at airshows I think I paid 17$ ?? Been a long time ago.. My Super Swift (the Swiftfire) aircraft ended up on one of his advertisement brochures.. It worked for him because the Swift was polished aluminum and deep blood red paint. You could see your toothy smile either in the paint or the polished aluminum from some distance away..

I also knew the guy who used to sell the aluminum polish to American Airlines back when all their aircraft were polished.... He had a company that sold general aviation supplies that got its' kick start from selling polish to the big boys.... The polish American used (and he sold them ) was actually "Perfect Polish" which (believe it or not) was made from peanuts !

Number 5 Schlegel wool polishing pad and a rotary buffer..... Plus hours and hours of work to bring aircraft aluminum up to a show quality shine..

It has to be a labor of love otherwise paint the puppy ! Sliding canopy frame, prop, spinner, and several polished stripes down the side plus polished wing panels... Whew...... I am getting hot just thinking about all the hours and hours of the work I did on the polished and painted aircraft I once owned.

That was back in the days when Aviation gas cost less than 1.29 a gallon... Not like today where it is over $5 !

Has anyone heard of this technology? Probably not... It's an interesting read. Skip to the part about vehicle drag reduction. Very interesting indeed. I wonder why it's not in use commercially? TPTB maybe? blog.hasslberger.com...

a reply to: w8tn4it

Because when it fails and comes into contact with the airframe, the airframe loses.

a reply to: 727Sky

I'm thinking we'll stick with the turtle wax for now. That's super pricey, can't see it really making too much of a difference for an old Cessna 150.

And I was thinking it wasn't too long ago (maybe five years) that 100LL was that cheap, so I looked up historical prices. Guess it was closer to 15-20.