Definition
A woven cotton or synthetic fabric tape laid over the rib cap strips of a fabric-covered aircraft wing or control surface before the rib lacing cord is applied. It distributes the load of the lacing cord across the rib, preventing the cord from cutting into or chafing through the covering fabric.
Plain English
A strong narrow strip of cloth that is placed along the top of each wing rib before the fabric covering is stitched down. It acts as a buffer so the stitching cord cannot saw through the fabric over time.
Context Anchor
Seen in fabric-covered aircraft maintenance, especially during covering, repair, rib tying, and inspection of fabric attachment areas.
Derivation
Called 'reinforcing' because it strengthens the area where the rib lacing cord presses against the fabric covering. Without it, the thin cord would concentrate stress on a narrow line of fabric and eventually wear through.
Why Pilots Care
On a fabric-covered aircraft, failure of the rib lacing can allow the covering to lift away from the ribs in flight, distorting the airfoil and degrading control. Reinforcing tape is a small detail with a big role in keeping the covering attached to the structure.
Intuition Check
Do not picture ordinary sticky tape used to hold something together. In this context, reinforcing tape is a strong fabric strip built into the covering job to add strength and spread stress.
Example Sentence 1
Before lacing the fabric to the ribs, the technician laid reinforcing tape along each rib cap strip from leading edge to trailing edge.
Example Sentence 2
After the fabric was tautened, reinforcing tape was added at the leading-edge seams to handle air loads.