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The vented caps of many types of aircraft have been the cause on numerous accidents GOING BACK SINCE WILBOUR AND ORVILLE. A nice 415 G was lost here some years back WHEN THE NEW OWNER BOUGHT A SET OF PRETTY LOOKING FUEL CAPS TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL VENTED ONES. Everyone wants to make their aircraft look and run great. Well vented fuel caps are a vital part of your fuel system and a vital link to a long life just as vented lungs are
.
I did see one very neat solution to keeping the water out and that was the use of tennis balls that had a proper sized hole cut so as to allow a tight fit over the vented cap. Some Cub people use them on main fus. tank.
I have used small plastic bags with a suitably long spring around the base of the fill pipe.. The metal coil type springs last many many years. I keep several spares in flight bags. Red or orange coloured plastic can be had at most lumber stores such as Home Depot. Never had water in a tank.
Some people even use the same type of spring to attach to their carburetor control arm such that should the throttle cable or a fitting fail in flight it would provide a return to full throttle. It makes people feel more secure especially far into bush country. Not legal I would think, but some owners do it. When was the last time that you saw someone actually check to see that the little cotter pin at the cable end on the carb throttle arm was still there and healthy looking ? It would be a good item for the preflight list when you are checking the oil level.
.
Very very seldom does a Continental ever pack it in all of a sudden. They are very reliable. If they are going to have a problem it most likely will be due to lack of fuel for one reason or another.
-------Original Message-------
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Hi Dennis,
On my 415-C I used to have the cork float / wire fuel gauges for all three
tanks. When the 'coupe was outside it used to get water in the tanks quite
regularly. Very shortly after I bought it I purchased 3 new fuel caps with
new cork seals, drilled a hole in the tab and attached a "remove before
flight" tag to them to remind me to change over the caps when I went flying.
With the non-vented caps in place I never found water in the tanks from then
on.
This might be a solution to your problem - just remember that if you have
non-vented tanks that you MUST remove these caps before you go flying or your
flight will be very short indeed. There was a tragic accident out of the
airport where I bought my coupe where a pilot had replaced the caps on his
Aeronca with non-vented types, took his son up flying and ended up upside down
in the trees after his engine quit from fuel stavation (vacuum in the tanks).
It was the last flight he ever took with his son. So if you do have
non-vented tanks AND you do this, tag the caps AND include it in your
checklist - the tags will flutter in your face as a reminder if you forget.
Hope this helps.
John
>From: "DENNIS OTTO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]>
>Reply-To: "DENNIS OTTO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] ercoupe related !!!!!
>hi everyone I'm Dennis Otto, 3 weeks owning my ercoupe, until a hanger opens up I'm outside, saturday was a beautiful day here in west michigan, >friday we had rain, I sumped my wing tanks they were clean, then my gasolater and what a shock to find WATER, I took about a half gallon out until it >was clean,now the gage rubber seal is soft and it looks to have a good seal, what should I do to solve this, I'm afraid if I cover it during tie down what >will happen while flying in rain???? advice needed, thank you and never slack on sumping your fuel before each flight----------Dennis 99935
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