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ZipTips and ER tanks

bnovak1220

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Hello All,

Has anyone installed the ZipTips Premiere Winglets and come up with a ER tank solution? I know Hotel Whiskey Aviation makes a tank for Vans stock wing tips but I'm guessing they won't work with the ZipTips?
Getting ready to start on quick build wings and trying to get some final decisions made
Thanks ahead for any advice!

-Berkley
 
I have the HW ER tanks installed and I can’t imagine how a different wing tip profile would fit. They are tight in the Vans wingtip
 
Thanks Bill for replying! Yeah I was thinking that the HW er tanks would not work. Wondering if anyone came up with another solution for those who used the Aveo tips.
On a different note - how do you like the HW er tanks ? Have they worked well and have they been very beneficial?
 
They work great. I flew for 8 yrs without them and decided I needed them for some of the long trips I was taking. Also they work great for tanking up on cheap fuel ( I know, oxymoron!)
 
I'm slowly designing a set that will fit my rocket and a friends rocket. He has the zip tips and I have the original style of winglets with no intention of upgrading. Any idea the difference between the 4 wings internally and the 10 wings? Specifically I am looking at a tube style tank like the HW tanks but then with an additional welded on tank inside the tip.

Be a couple months so depends on how patient you are. I am attempting to get 10 gallons per side as that fits our commute style fuel wise pretty nicely. Give us a solid 600 mile range plus deviation to alternate 100 miles away plus the 45 minutes.
 
Hey Berkley, make sure the forward outboard edge of the tank and the inside of the wing tip where the lights are have clearance. Bet not. Check it BEFORE you install the tanks in the wings-
pic is of the new version tank with a 45* cutoff on the leading edge to clear lights. wing is upside down in this pic.

Tom
 

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Thanks Bill for replying! Yeah I was thinking that the HW er tanks would not work. Wondering if anyone came up with another solution for those who used the Aveo tips.
On a different note - how do you like the HW er tanks ? Have they worked well and have they been very beneficial?

I have been considering options for extra fuel, knowing that the HW tanks will not fit with my ZipTips.

1. TurtlePac collapsible fuel tank(s) for rear seats and/or baggage compartment with dry-break disconnects in fuel lines with isolation valves. Big advantage here is you can do large volumes, especially if you can give up a rear seat. A friend of mine who does long hauls (up to 16 hours!) in his C182 uses a Turtle Pac in the back seat.

2. Conformal baggage compartment floor tank with dry-break QD--Advantage is is would fit flush to the baggage floor and support a small load of bags. Disadvantage is lower volume due to baggage floor limitations and installation/removal diffculty.

3. Custom fuel bladders fitted into leading edges -- need to look at structure, plumbing might get complex.

Fuel Safe Systems advertises custom fuel bladders and cell designs. I haven't contacted them yet but am considering doing so for the option of a baggage floor fuel cell and/or leading edge cells. https://fuelsafe.com/aircraft-fuel-bladders/ Fuel Safe also sells the dry break fuel disconnect fittings.
 
Extra Fuel RV-10

I have cut sheet metal for a tank that fits in the baggage compartment snug up against the rear seats and does not impinge much on the door opening. It will hold a little over 16 gallons if my math is correct.

I plan to plumb it into a T fitting in the left wing root on the return fuel line of my FLY EFII system and to put a check valve in the line to the rear tank.

My plan is that after flying 1+ hours on the left tank, switch to the right tank, pump from rear tank to left tank Fly-EFII return line. One end of the return line goes to the Andair duplex fuel valve which will act as a block when turned to right tank feed. The other end of the return line feeds into the left tank. This is where the fuel will exit. Evidence of filling can be seen on the left fuel gauge. I could add evidence of tank depletion by adding a float to the extra tank and feeding it to the EFIS.

I may put the pump on an automatic timer and switch.

I like evidence of the left tank filling because that is really what you want to see.

The tank will be removeable and probably only used on flights that may push normal IFR reserves for added safety and longer VFR flights.

It keeps the weight off the wing and is centered.

Concerns:
  • Added weight in baggage compartment of the fuel. Under 100 pounds.
  • Impacts CG, which may be a positive on a RV-10
  • Fuel in the cabin.
  • Pumping into a full tank and spilling out the vent line.

I know of one other that has done this 2 times and it has worked out well.
 
I installed the Hotel Whiskey ER tanks in my Slider Fastback 8 with the AVEO zip tips and hinged mount. Wasn’t a big deal to make it all fit. If I wasn’t on my phone I’d post a pic.
 
The pic I posed was from a RECENT RV10 build---still under construction. I think he has the Aeroleds-----and there was NO WAY the tanks were going in. I havent seen the insides of the Zip Tips, but I do know the tank pretty much fills up the tip. Hench the 45* angled from of the tank to clear the light housing.

Tom
 
Keep in mind from a weight standpoint fuel in the wings is better than fuel in the fuselage. In addition all aircraft I have flown burn the fuselage fuel first then the wing fuel. I am not sure there is a easy way to plumb that however and in the quantity we are discussing probably not that important.
G.
 
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I might add that I plumbed at "T" in the pump output line of each of the HW tanks and added a low pressure switch that is connected to the G3X Display which indicates that fuel is actually flowing through the line. Light extinguishes when HW tank is empty. It's just a little added confirmation that fuel is actually being pumped into the mains.
 
The pic I posed was from a RECENT RV10 build---still under construction. I think he has the Aeroleds-----and there was NO WAY the tanks were going in. I havent seen the insides of the Zip Tips, but I do know the tank pretty much fills up the tip. Hench the 45* angled from of the tank to clear the light housing.

Tom

I have RV-10 ZipTips and a friend has the HW tanks in his RV-10. Unfortunately, they are incompatible, as you have said. Even with that 45 deg angle, I don't believe they would fit.
 
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