|
-
POSTING RULES

-
Donate yearly (please).
-
Advertise in here!
-
Today's Posts
|
Insert Pics
|

01-18-2012, 09:13 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Ridgeland, SC
Posts: 2,589
|
|
good idea John-
but more connections gives more chances for a leak point. Alot of guys are using flex lines.
Tom
__________________
Tom Swearengen, TS Flightlines LLC, AS Flightlines
Joint Venture with Aircraft Specialty
Teflon Hose Assemblies for Experimentals
Proud Vendor for RV1, Donator to VAF
RV7 Tail Kit Completed, Fuse started-Pay as I go Plan
Ridgeland, SC
www.tsflightlines.com, www.asflightlines.com
|

01-18-2012, 10:24 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Delaware, OH (KDLZ)
Posts: 4,196
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by airguy
I attempted 3 times to make that line on my 9A, each resulting in an addition to my pile of shame, before calling Brett at Bonaco. Now life is good... 
|
I would recommend calling Tom at TSFlightlines.
Both TsFlightlines and Bonaco make great products. My brake lines are Bonaco and my fuel lines and some brake lines are TSFlightlines.
Brent @ Bonaco was difficult to reach, didn't return email, had to call to get information.
I've sent an email to Tom at 9pm and he responded quickly. Several times he phoned me to get clarification. I also had some issues, which were self induced. Apparently I have problems with reading a ruler. He took care of me beyond what I would have expected any vendor to have done.
The last plug for Tom, since he's active on VAF (Brent doesn't appear to be), is we have to get him to change his signature:
Tom Swearengen, TS Flightlines
Newbee--no RV --YET
Helping others build their dreams
Debating a RV7/7A-Looks like a 7A!!
to
Tom Swearengen, TS Flightlines
RV7A Tail Kit Ordered
Helping others build their dreams
The best way is to buy a few more lines from. BTW, if you are like me and dorked up your flares, he makes perfect hard lines too.
bob
|

01-18-2012, 10:34 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Ridgeland, SC
Posts: 2,589
|
|
Bob--
getting funds for that tail kit!
Tom
__________________
Tom Swearengen, TS Flightlines LLC, AS Flightlines
Joint Venture with Aircraft Specialty
Teflon Hose Assemblies for Experimentals
Proud Vendor for RV1, Donator to VAF
RV7 Tail Kit Completed, Fuse started-Pay as I go Plan
Ridgeland, SC
www.tsflightlines.com, www.asflightlines.com
|

01-18-2012, 10:44 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 645
|
|
Go around it!
I have return lines to the tanks so that is 4 tubes instead of 2!
I did not go through the holes in the weldments but went around the weldments, that certainly made life easier. With the CAD-weldment covers installed, nobody notices that anyway!
Regards, Tonny.
__________________
"Pilottonny"
Tonny Tromp
Lanaken, Belgium (EU)
RV9A, Registration: PH-VAN
ECI-Titan IOX-320 with dual EI, turning a Whirlwind 200RV CS prop.
Sold
|

01-18-2012, 02:45 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Waller, Texas
Posts: 146
|
|
Make the first set out of a coat hangar. Then remove and copy with the benders. You'll have to tweak it once in place but it'll be close enough. Probably more difficult on the nosedragger with all that clap trap in the way, but it worked great for me. :-)
__________________
Phil Birkelbach
RV-7 727WB - Flying
Pitts S1C - Restoration
Christavia Mk1 - Fuselage
www.myrv7.com
|

01-19-2012, 03:04 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Newport, RI
Posts: 705
|
|
Tubes
Took me a while to figure out. Easy once I did.
Cut a length long enough to extend from the fuel selector
And extend outside 8" or so. Measure, bend 90 deg. and install
The fitting that will later be installled at the selector before you install the line.
Put a slight curve in the entire line and start to feed the line
From mid ship outboard. Work it through the gear weldment.
Bending to then fit through the large hole in the side skin. I just used my
Fingers to make the slight bends. The lines end up as a straighter
Run between the gear w. and the side skin than what is shown on the drawing
But was 100% easier to deal with. And yes I messed up a few lines before this process.
Take your time.
__________________
Al Girard, Newport, RI
N339AG
RV-9
|

01-19-2012, 05:10 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Ridgeland, SC
Posts: 2,589
|
|
rigid tubing--
Guys seem to have some issues bending their rigid lines. There have been alot of posts in the past on this, so I wont bore everyone. I guess because I do this all the time, that is easy. Heck---I had a hard time riviting--so you get my point.
Bending tubing does take practice with the bender or benders you are going to use. I have some thoughts that might help some of you.
1st- get a good bender, and not a $14.95 special at brand X autoparts. The Imperial 370 and 470 benders will do anything that we need to do. 180* bends, with nice concentric radii. Unless you have a hydraulic powered mandrel bender at your disposal (if you do, let me know!), then these bender will serve you well. Avery, GAHCO, Spruce, and others have them. By some extra tubing in the sizes you will be using; for most of us thats 1/4 & 3/8.
2nd)- PRACTICE the type of bends you will be doing. I take a blue Sharpie, and make a line where I want the bend centerline to be, and then practice hitting that line. Once you do it several times, you will see where the scale on the handle lines up with your index mark. Repeat this until you can do it over and over. Then draw another line further down the tube, and make a different angle bend, oriented in a different plane. Do that until you are comfortable doing multiple angle assemblies.
3rd)- can you make a multi-angled tube that has to go over, under, around, or through something? Gee, I dont know. Try this. I use a piece of either 3/16 or 1/4 bundyflex brake tubing (the straight lengths you can get at X autoparts). You can use cooper tubing, but its getting expensive. The object is to make a pattern of the assembly you want before you ever pick up the bender. Take the tubing and make some rough bends by hand to approximate the bends and angles. ALOT easier to do this than to scap a bunch of tubing, because the angles were off. Once this pattern is done, remove it, and see if there are any limitations as to why you cant bend a real tube with your bender. (Let me say here, that I am NOT a muscle guy with hands the size of baseball gloves. So I made a bracket to put my benders in my vise, so I can use both hands to do my bending).
4th)- I may be necessary to flare your tubing before bending. If so, ok. Take your new tubing and using your pattern, make your first centerline. Bend it, using your pattern as a guide. Then, just continue to the next bend and repeat. You can even measure the centerline distances between bends if you wish, and make those bends. Having your pattern will certainly help.
This seems VERY long a drawn out, but in fact its pretty straight forward. Has worked for me for many years. And unless you have a CNC mandrel bender, with laser coordinate capabilty in your shop, it can work for you to.
I hope this helps--
Tom
__________________
Tom Swearengen, TS Flightlines LLC, AS Flightlines
Joint Venture with Aircraft Specialty
Teflon Hose Assemblies for Experimentals
Proud Vendor for RV1, Donator to VAF
RV7 Tail Kit Completed, Fuse started-Pay as I go Plan
Ridgeland, SC
www.tsflightlines.com, www.asflightlines.com
|

01-20-2012, 04:50 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 2,791
|
|
Managed to do my fuel lines last weekend
Andair valve
Cut 36 inches length of tubing.
Do the bends closest to the valve first. For Andair valve and RV-9A, dimension for bends closest to the valve are 3 inch down, 2.45 inch left or right (depending on side being worked), install nut then ferrule and make the flare. Making the tube ends square and polishing made nice flares.
Install the snap bushings in the tube support brackets. Let the small support bracket be free at this time.
Bend the long portion of the tubing into a big arc so you can begin to feed the tube thru the support closest to the valve. After the tubing is started in the first bracket, add the small bracket to the tube and let it hang free. Add any additional grommets to be used at the weldment to the tube at this time.
Now the hard part, slide on a tube spring bender to the tube for support and begin to bend the tubing by hand a little at a time to work the tube thru the holes. The most difficult part is where the tubing exits the fuselage. Keep working it. To get the proper fit at the fuselage, pull the tube thru the fuselage a little more than the final fit and then push it back in. Then straighten the remaining tubing outside the fuselage. Secure the grommets.
Note: the best bend points for the tube by hand I found were: 1) just outside of the larger support bracket (closest to the valve), pull forwards, 2) straight down between the weldment and fuselage, pull forwards, 3) straight down outside the fuselage, push backwards.
Note: the short bends (near the valve) are easier on the left hand side (pilot’s side) than the right hand side because of the cheap (black color) tubing bender I was using. For the right hand side tube, it required that I bend the short 2.45 inch bend first then the 3 inch bend. Expect a slight mark on your tube when you do the right hand side but can that be buffed out nicely with scotchbrite. I minimized the mark by bending the final portion of that bend with palm force. Add some Boelube or other to the sliding side of the tube bender to smooth the bend process.
Do a mockup with 1/4 inch 3003 first to get the sizing of the tight bends. I did my final with 5052 and noted the 5052 made better looking bends than equivalent sized 3003. Also, keep wire handy when you are making bends to be able to bend the wire to mockup the direction you are bending to help visualize. In trying to make the right hand side I made 2 left hand side tubes before I used the wire for a mockup at the tube bender.
Put the tube bender in a vise. Use a digital level indicator to align the tube bender to vertical and then horizontal on the tube to get a true 90 degree bend.
Left hand side was 30 minutes. Right hand side was 2 hours. On one of these I made the flare without putting a ferrule and nut on, that's makes it Doo-Doo, don't do that. I had never used a tubing bender before and when I was finished I felt the accomplishment of learning something. I am glad that job is done.
BTW I plan on installing a Flow Ezy Series 3000 74 micron fuel strainer between the valve and the pump just after the valve and resting on the floor on some insulation.
__________________
Steve Melton
Cincinnati, OH
RV-9A, Tip-up, Superior O-320, roller lifters, 160HP, WW 200RV, dual impulse slick mags, oil pressure = 65 psi, EGT = 1300F, flight hours = 800+ for all
Simplicity is the art in design.
My Artwork is freely given and published and cannot be patented.
www.rvplasticparts.com
Last edited by Steve Melton : 01-20-2012 at 05:18 PM.
|

01-20-2012, 05:08 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 427
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TS Flightlines
Guys seem to have some issues bending their rigid lines. There have been alot of posts in the past on this, so I wont bore everyone. I guess because I do this all the time, that is easy.
|
You know, even though I am a long time away from needing my fuel and brake lines, I'm kind of wanting to order them from Tom now just to reward him for his excellent service and regular postings on this site. Here he is giving a long list of helpful suggestions, all of which are only useful to builders not paying for his hoses. It's a little like he's in competition with himself! That's classy, and I hope he's getting enough business to start his own RV really soon. He deserves it!
--
Stephen
|

01-20-2012, 06:38 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Ridgeland, SC
Posts: 2,589
|
|
Gee Steve-
Thanks, but that wasnt what I had in mind! Alot of you have helped me get things rolling, and If I can make life easy for someone, then its worth it to me. Just like SEVERAL people on this forum, that have allowed me to go to their hangars, or see their RV's, and visualize what some of you guys are talking about.
Just returning the favor. One day--soon--I'll be the one asking questions on how to build an RV!!
Tom
__________________
Tom Swearengen, TS Flightlines LLC, AS Flightlines
Joint Venture with Aircraft Specialty
Teflon Hose Assemblies for Experimentals
Proud Vendor for RV1, Donator to VAF
RV7 Tail Kit Completed, Fuse started-Pay as I go Plan
Ridgeland, SC
www.tsflightlines.com, www.asflightlines.com
|
| Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
|
| Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:01 AM.
|