Bladder tanks?

[moxcamel]

I was talking to a co-worker today about my RV-7 project, and I mentioned how messy the fuel tanks are to build on the kit. He had an interesting question: "Why don't they just use bladder tanks?" He's a pilot but not a builder, and I'm a builder but not an engineer, so I really didn't have an answer for him.

Anyone care to tackle that one?

Regards,
Kirk

[godspeed]

All I can figure is van figured proseal is cheaper than bladder tanks


Danny..

[pierre smith]

My experience with bladder tanks was not good. We flew Cessna Agwagons/Agtrucks for years and when the bladders started leaking, they were over $1000 to replace, each! You also had to have gorilla-length arms to reach in through the HUGE inspection hole through which the bladders were inserted to snap the keepers in place to keep the bladders from collapsing from their own weight.......all this expensive, complicated and a real pain. Cessna claimed that they did this because of the ag aviation environment and that in a crash, the bladders would retain the fuel and help lessen the chance of a fire...baloney...my airplane burned to a crisp anyway when the pilot hit a roadsign and sheared off the right wing! Yes, he escaped from the inverted wreckage due to quick-release door hinges and only suffered a broken femur.
Pierre

[Dave Cole]

Bladders add cost, weight, and complexity. If proseal is a problem, Van's sells pre-built fuel tanks for less than bladders would cost.