I have all the log books and a stack of 337's. I believe I have a CD of the FAA file that I ordered before I bought the plane, but I've misplaced it. You're giving me some hope here. Is it possible to prepare and submit 337's for work past completed, AND is there an STC that covers the work that was done to my plane?
Thanks, Tom From: Donald Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 6:37 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Fuel System Problems As a mechanic who just finished up 337's on my coupe, catching up to many years of undocumented work, I was alerted to your statement that the mechanic refused to work on it unless there was documentation. Sounds like you need a new mechanic with a "can do" attitude. Are you relying on just the logbooks for documentation, or have you the FAA file? --- In [email protected], "new2coupes" <tcro...@...> wrote: > > Help! I recently aqcuired an interest in a great Ercoupe, but I think it has > a major problem with the fuel system. At some point in its history the nose > tank was removed and the fuel lines replaced. An electric fuel pump was > added, so the plane has two pumps; the mechanical pump and the newer > electrical pump. The wing tanks were not replaced; they are 8 gallons each, > so the plane only has a max useable of about 15 or so gallons of fuel. > > On its most recent flight, (starting with full tanks), the left wing tank was > found to be nearly empty (added 7.4 gal) while the right wing tank was only > down 2 gallons. (Plane lost power in flight and I had to make an emergency > landing. All went well and the plane was safely landed). > > I suspected a blocked vent cap, and sure enough the right ring tank cap vent > was blocked. I cleaned it out and verified that it was clear. I reinstalled > the caps and taxied the plane for about 10 minutes. The fuel pressure guage > was reading a little low, and the fuel pressure warning light was flashing, > indicating low pressure. > > I grounded the plane and called a mechanic and this is when I discovered the > REAL problem. Apparently, the nose tank removal was undocumented. No STC > anywhere in the plane's otherwise excellent documentation and no mention of > the modification in any of the logs. The mechanic declined to work on the > fuel system unless there was documentation of the modification. > > I did find reference to an STC to replace the wing tanks with 15 gallon > tanks, but nothing specifically addressing the removal of the nose tank. (The > plane has had upgraded avionics installed and I'm guessing the nose tank was > removed to make room for the avionics). The plane has an STC to replace the > instrument panel and, again, I'm guessing that was when the nose tank was > removed. > > One of the major maintence items that was performed on this plane about 3 > months ago was the complete replacement of all the fuel lines in conjunction > with the annual inspection. > > I have a couple of questions: > > 1. Is the plane technically not airworthy because of the undocumented removal > of the nose tank? > > 2. Is there an STC that covers the removal of the nose tank? > > 3. If #1 is true, what are my options? > > Thanks for the help. >
