Saville
Well Known Member
Well this was the year for the prop inspection and as that was going to take several weeks I decided to so the annual 4 months early - lousy flying weather in January and February anyway.
But the other reason I downed the plane was that I had developed a small leak in the left hand tank. You'd wipe the underside of the wing clean and the next day there would be a track a few inches long. Nothing major but enough to bother me.
So the prop came off and and the annual completed (few minor adjustments to be made), and the tank came off.
The leak is in the lower seam about 3/4's the way outboard:
Turns out that someone had buttered up the entire outside of the seam with Pro Seal but...the sealant never cured - you can wipe it off with your finger:
So then it was observed that just about every fastener hole along the top spanwise edge had a small crack on the underside. The conjecture is that maybe the screws were turned too tightly or that the dimples were not created squarely - or maybe both.
Anyway this tank has been a problem from the start. Firstly the tank vent B-nut on the inside was never tightened down so I had to remove the access plate, reach in there and tighten it. And the pass-through the rib for the vent was sloppily put on and leaked so I also removed it, put new fittings in Pro Sealed it and it was good from that point on. There was also Pro Seal on the tip of the vent near the fuel filler cap partly blocking the vent.
So it looks like a new tank. I suppose one could try to remove the skin and reskin the structure but the time taken to drill out all those rivets must be close to just constructing a new tank. And this one I can inspect as it's being built.
Well that's the fun of EAB and buying someone else's airplane. I'm not complaining...these things happen: Only if you build it yourself do you reduce the chances for surprises. But the prop might be back on before the tank is built and installed.
But the other reason I downed the plane was that I had developed a small leak in the left hand tank. You'd wipe the underside of the wing clean and the next day there would be a track a few inches long. Nothing major but enough to bother me.
So the prop came off and and the annual completed (few minor adjustments to be made), and the tank came off.
The leak is in the lower seam about 3/4's the way outboard:
Turns out that someone had buttered up the entire outside of the seam with Pro Seal but...the sealant never cured - you can wipe it off with your finger:
So then it was observed that just about every fastener hole along the top spanwise edge had a small crack on the underside. The conjecture is that maybe the screws were turned too tightly or that the dimples were not created squarely - or maybe both.
Anyway this tank has been a problem from the start. Firstly the tank vent B-nut on the inside was never tightened down so I had to remove the access plate, reach in there and tighten it. And the pass-through the rib for the vent was sloppily put on and leaked so I also removed it, put new fittings in Pro Sealed it and it was good from that point on. There was also Pro Seal on the tip of the vent near the fuel filler cap partly blocking the vent.
So it looks like a new tank. I suppose one could try to remove the skin and reskin the structure but the time taken to drill out all those rivets must be close to just constructing a new tank. And this one I can inspect as it's being built.
Well that's the fun of EAB and buying someone else's airplane. I'm not complaining...these things happen: Only if you build it yourself do you reduce the chances for surprises. But the prop might be back on before the tank is built and installed.
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