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fly with one empty tank

Lan Vinh Do

Lan Vinh Do

Well Known Member
Hi
I found a big leak in my right fuel tank. When i bought the plane, the builder said that he had a fuel leak on the right fuel tank. He slosk the tank and didn't had any problem after.
during the last two flight i began to smell fuel in the cabin. I remove all the inspection panel in the cockpit and didn't found anything.
Today i've put some air in the tire and found a lot of fuel under the fairing of the right wing I remove everything and found that it was probably a leak from the jonction of the inner rib and the skin of the fuel tank in the upper most part of the fuel tank. Probably didn't notice it before but las time i fill the tank it was cold outside and with the warmer day, it pressurize the tank a little bit and it leak. This area had more sealant so it was probably the place where it leak before.

I had a couple of rivet that was leaking and 2 week ago i already email evan aviation to order 2 new fuel tank before i found this bigger leak.

My question was : during the time that i am waiting for the new tank, is there any problem to fly with a almost empty fuel tank on the right and a full tank on the left other than the roll tendency ( i have to renew my IFR and want to do some training) I can probably leave 10 gallon an it will not leak)

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pYNHurqzck_GH-iurQPo4C7wapnxqtjAlUDZ7yz7_BA?feat=directlink


thank you

Lan Vinh Do
 
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Several things here that need urgent attention.

First, if it was me I would ground your RV-10.

You made the right decision to order new tanks, install them before you fly again.
Sloshing the fuel tank is a very poor choice to fix a fuel leak, you can tell the seller. Not only is it ineffective for large leaks but will eventually peel off and clog your fuel system.

What you have is a massive leak in terms of aircraft fuel tanks and the chance of blowing yourself up with fuel vapour entering the cabin is a very real possibility. Do yourself and all of us a big favor and replace those tanks before you fly again.
 
I agree with Earnst!

Every time you fly to altitude, you will be venting fuel vapor through the tank leak as well as the vent line. Also, every time the vapor space in the leaky tank increases in temperature (descending to warmer temps or heating up on the ground), additional fuel vapor will be venting through the tank leak. All you need is the right fuel / air mixture and an ignition source and you become a fireball.

Please fix it right before you fly. I'd disconnect the battery in the meantime.

Aviation is not particularly dangerous, but it is very unforgiving of bad choices...:eek:
 
Thank you

Thank you everybody for your input
I don't want to do anything dangerous and will ground the airplane if i have to. I was just wondering if it would be ok if i completely empty the right tank and do short 1 hre flight for ifr training.

For the one who had some tank from evan, what is the timeframe approx. I took one week off to go to oshkosh this year but it seem a little tight unless evan is really fast.

Lan vinh do
 
Red Green says, "Patch it with duct tape and let's go flyin'!" Just kidding!;) Grounding it is the right thing to do.
 
Lan Vinh Do
If you get your tanks for Oshkosh, would you consider a flight of two. We are contemplating going in our RV-10 also.
Ron
 
oshkosh

I would be very happy to go ther with you if my rv is ready. Doesn't look like it will happend. the tank will take aound 2 month to arrived.

I would be happy to see you even if it's not in oshkosh
I wasn't aware that there was another rv-10 in the area.


Lan Vinh Do
 
Are you sure this tank was actually "sloshed". Considering it's an RV10, sloshing hasn't been a part of Van's tank building, since about 1994. It looks like a heavy white paint.........that coats everything. Eventually, it starts breaking into small pieces.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
slosh

Hi
I bought the airplane used in november last year( 2010) . The first flight was in 2008. The seller told me that he had a fuel leak in the test phase. He removed the tank, add selant and slosh it. ( mabe just the part that is toward the center because i don't see any slosh when i look by the fuel cap hole. ) He said that he never had any more problem after ( mabe one rivet that was leaking .. easy fix .. easyer than the one that i have now between the skin and the inner rib)
When i did the flight test the, the tank wasn't full. I didn't notice any leak before today ( i flew the aircraft 40 hre since i bought it)

So it wasn't sloshed during the building but after to repair a leak.

Lan Vinh Do
 
flion said:
Red Green says, "Patch it with duct tape and let's go flyin'!" Just kidding!;) Grounding it is the right thing to do.
Click to expand...

Many years ago I knew an Air Force ramp mechanic who always chewed bubble gum when the B-47's were being dispatched. He claims bubble gum stopped a rivet leak long enough to get the airplane launched and credit for the mission.:)

Seriously, it would be no big deal to open the fuel tank and fix it properly. Van's has the cover plates to close the aft baffle entry point. Also, if one can deal with the cosmetic consequences, the leaking rivets could be drilled out and replaced with the blind rivets used to attach the Z brackets. That would save a pile of money for sure.
 
Allow me to be a discenting opinion.
I would have no problem flying a plane with some fuel in one tank and some in the other.
 
Kahuna said:
I would have no problem flying a plane with some fuel in one tank and some in the other.
Click to expand...

I do that on almost every flight. The lowest I get on any tank is perhaps 4-5 gallons.

I have known other pilots who had a leak with, lets say more than 10 gallons in one tank. Solution until it was fixed was don't put more than 10 gallons in that tank.

The "sloshing" issue is worthy of appropriate concern. Perhaps just do not use that tank.
 
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Fuel Leak

I normally would agree however if fuel is leaking and finding its was to the inboard side of the tank its a problem. The 10 will allow the fuel to find its way into the aircraft, under the front seats and into the tunnel, not good. Please take the advice of many posters on this thread and ground the aircraft.

Pat




Kahuna said:
Allow me to be a discenting opinion.
I would have no problem flying a plane with some fuel in one tank and some in the other.
Click to expand...
 
None of us would have a problem with
"flying a plane with some fuel in one tank and some in the other."

In fact, if the leaky tank was completely emptied and the plane needed to be ferried home or to a place where it can be repaired I still would have no problem.
The problems here are the massive leak in the right tank and the slosh that has been used. Surely you would not encourage Lan to go flying with a leaky fuel tank after he reported smelling fuel in the cabin and showing us a fuel stained
gap fairing and reporting a puddle underneath the tank, would you?
It appears that Lan is not a builder and somewhat in a hurry to get back into the air. While most builders would probably opt to repair a tank like this as has been suggested by David it would still leave the slosh in place for yet another
problem in the future.
Who knows, Lan might get lucky and someone will sell him a completed tank to be installed in time for Oshkosh.
 
Safety

Hi
Thank you everybody.
Don't worry , I will not do anything unsafe
I built a rv-7 before ( no wife and kid at that moment) but it was a quick built with the tank already done.
I bought this rv-10 already built ( i don't know where you find some time to built with wife and kids!! Give me your advice!!)

I don't want to transform in a fireball. I post on the forum because the leak really come from the upper most part of the fuel tank and happend only the day where the tank was completely full.

I may plan to ferry the plane to a friend that have experience with fuel tank if people find it ok. ( 2 hre flight. I will do a fuel stop in the middle)( i will remove 20 gal from the tank and see if it leak ( do a couple of touch and go. Use only the left tank for the flight) and ground the plane there. until it's fix.

to answer some question in the post
The left tank haven't been slosh.
NO fuel at all went in the cockpit.( i removed all the inspection panel) The smell was comming from the hole where the pushrod exit the cockpit

If it's not ready for oshkosh, i will not cry and my wife will be happy to finnaly have me at home for a week.

Thank you

Lan Vinh Do

Is it resonnable? or should i empty completely the tank for this flight.
 
Lan,
I would not fly the aircraft with the smell of avgas in the cockpit. There is nothing wrong with flying with one tank empty. The issue here is that even with it empty it still contains enough fumes that may escape and could ignite. I would remove the tank, and replace it with a new one since that one has been sloshed, and in time, could cause a migration of particles from the slosh into the fuel system. My two cents,..... ground the plane until fixed and catch a ride with a friend to OSH!
Bill
 
Don't worry

Thank you everybody.
Don't be worry. You will not see me in a NTSB report. The aircraft is grounded until i put the new tank. I appreciate all your concern. Better live to fly until i am very old.

Lan Vinh Do


I may be ready for oshkosh. If you see a rv-10 with 2 unpaint fuel tank.... it's me
 
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