Fuel Tank – Part 5

Ok, so I’m officially sick and tired of proseal. With that said, I’m walking away from it for a few months before I finish up the fuel tanks.

With that said, I now have two mostly completed fuel tanks and once all the pro-seal cures, I can begin leak testing. I’m going to give the tanks a few months so that I have warmer weather before I start leak testing. (Honestly that is an excuse so I don’t have to mix any proseal for a bit).

I did my best to film the whole process this time as it takes MULTIPLE sessions to get this done. I bounced back and forth between wet-setting things in one session and allowing the proseal to set with the ribs fully clecoed in place. Also I had one LUCKY mistake when back-riveting the stiffeners. I did not mark or bend the skin, but drove the rivet into my table as I missed the backing plate.

I also started to rivet the ribs in the wrong order, but caught myself and only had to clean up a little proseal. Not a huge deal and I’m sure if I did install that rib first it would have been fine.

Lastly I realized I installed the fuel vent line incorrectly on my right tank. I missed there are two sets of holes that you can use to run the fuel vent line. The one closest to the nose is the correct one and makes life so much easier. The other set of holes is for the fuel to get to the fuel pickup. I have a feeling I’ll need to “fix” my right wing before I seal it up. (will also need to muck with my fuel float again. GROAN!). Not an impossible fix but have to think it though. EDIT: no dummy, fuel vent is on the top of the wing. I’ll still have to look to see if there is any good reason to re-route the vent line before I seal up the tank. Currently leaning towards leaving it alone.

I’m also really happy with my ductless mini-split system. With almost 8″ of snow outside I was still able to finish up my fuel tank in a t-shirt and be quite comfortable. Anyway, now it’s time to clean up the shop and get the flaps and ailerons before the fuselage shows up!