Aircraft do not tolerate the shortcuts that work elsewhere. Nothing can bear on control surfaces, and nothing can be sealed in.
Every other kind of shrink wrapping starts with the question "how do we get the film tight to the asset?". Aviation starts with the opposite question: how do we keep the film off it entirely, and still end up with a sealed, vented envelope?
Why aircraft are different
Three constraints shape every aviation job. Film cannot bear on control surfaces, pitot probes, static ports, antennae or composite panels. Moisture cannot be sealed inside a fuselage. And whatever goes on has to come off without residue on paint or composite, and without anyone climbing on the structure to fit or remove it.
Miss any of those and you have not protected the aircraft — you have created a maintenance finding.
The non-contact cradle
The answer is a freestanding cradle built around the airframe so the film is carried entirely on the frame. Nothing touches the aircraft, including under the wings and empennage where it is tempting to let the film rest. On a properly built cover the contact point count is zero, and that is a number worth asking any contractor to commit to in writing.
Zoning rather than one envelope
Fuselage, wings and empennage are treated as separate zones. On rotorcraft the rotor head, blades and tail boom are separated out again. Zoning gives a better fit on complex geometry and makes access far easier — you can open one zone without breaking the whole envelope.
Protrusions get sealed one at a time
Pitot probes, static ports, aerials, drains and vents are each detailed individually rather than bridged over and hoped for. Every one gets recorded on the handover sheet, which matters as much on removal as on installation: the list is what stops a cover coming off with something still taped.
Ventilation and desiccant
Sealing an airframe up tight without managing moisture is worse than leaving it parked outside. Vent placement is designed for the volume of the envelope, and for anything beyond a few months desiccant goes in as well. Heritage and vintage airframes need this taken more seriously again, not less — an older aircraft sealed up for a year without airflow will show for it.
Where it is used
- Airframe storage, from a season between charters to multi-year preservation
- Rotorcraft parking and movement
- MRO containment inside the hangar, keeping paint, blast and composite work away from adjacent aircraft
- Engines, nacelles and thrust reversers for storage, pooling or export
- Wings, control surfaces, undercarriage assemblies and rotables
- Ferry and transport preparation for road, sea and containerised shipment
Working in a live hangar
The method statement is agreed with your engineering team before anything comes into the hangar, and crews work to your induction, permits and access windows. A hangar does not stop for a contractor, so the plan has to be built around your movements rather than the other way round.
What to ask a contractor
- How many contact points will there be on the airframe?
- How is each protrusion being sealed, and is there a record of them?
- What is the vent strategy for this envelope volume?
- What is the removal method, and does anyone need to climb on the structure?
- What grade of film, and can you supply certification?
Talk to us about your project
We install aviation shrink wrap from our Isle of Wight base and travel across the UK every week. Every quote is fixed after survey, with removal and disposal priced in from the start.
