Gaskets are mechanical seals that find use in a variety of applications to fill the space between two surfaces or objects. Their broad scope of applications includes industries such as aerospace, chemical processing, oil, military, and much more. Gaskets, like many mechanical elements, are only efficacious if the correct one is chosen for the intended project. To this point, several critical factors must be considered, all of which will be covered in this blog.

Anchor nuts are captive nuts that do not require an ordinary hex nut to tighten an aircraft bolt. They are used when it is nearly impossible to work on the backside of a piece you are bolting. When certain part installation makes hex nut usage unattainable, anchor nuts are the go-to alternative to bolting a piece together from one side only. It is not unusual for a typical all-metal homebuilt aircraft to have more than two to three hundred anchor nuts installed to reach assembly completion.

For some passengers, the scariest thing that could happen when we fly would be to get sucked out of the window of the plane. So, it stands to reason that seeing a hole in the airplane window would scare those people quite a bit. Afterall, aviation is serious business and there’s no way the FAA would allow anything to compromise safety. Right? Fortunately, the FAA confirmed that the small hole located at the bottom of the window is safe. But, what’s it for?