Definition
An explosive compound made by treating cotton fibers with nitric and sulfuric acid, producing nitrocellulose. In aircraft fabric covering work, guncotton dissolved in solvents forms the base of nitrate dope, which is brushed onto fabric to tighten and seal it.
Plain English
A treated form of cotton that becomes the main ingredient in the liquid coating used to tighten and protect fabric-covered aircraft surfaces.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft fabric-covering and finishing discussions, especially where nitrate dope or older coating materials are described.
Derivation
The name comes from its 19th-century use as a smokeless gunpowder substitute — cotton soaked in acid that became flammable enough to fire a gun. The same chemistry, in a controlled form, later became useful for coating aircraft fabric.
Why Pilots Care
Nitrate dope made from guncotton is highly flammable, both in liquid form and once cured on the airframe. Maintenance technicians working on fabric-covered aircraft need to understand what is in the dope they are applying and what is on the aircraft they are working around.
Intuition Check
Do not read “guncotton” as normal cotton cloth used on an aircraft. Here it means chemically treated cotton or plant fiber that can burn extremely fast and may be explosive.
Example Sentence 1
Nitrate dope is made by dissolving guncotton in a solvent so it can be brushed onto aircraft fabric.
Example Sentence 2
Workers handled guncotton materials carefully because of their high flammability during aircraft fabric work.