Somebody asked me a question this morning, and the following is my reply. I think it falls under the heading of things that I'd do differently given another chance. I need to update my fuel tank page with it.
> For fuel connections I would cut out a round aluminum plate out of 3/8" > aluminum, drill and tap a 3/8" NPT hole in the middle, and build this into > the structure as you build the tanks. Cut out the foam, substitute the > aluminum block, and glass right over it on the inside, then drill a hole > through it later from the outside (and vacuum out the chips). Put several > layers of glass around these to reinforce them so you can install an AN-6 > fitting later without tearing them out. Drains can be done the same way. > I tried just floxing aluminum tubing into the top, and one of my tanks > leaks when full because I didn't do a perfect job. > > Don't use the black plastic fillers that I used. Wicks and AS&S both sell > a large plastic (white, I think) filler with a knurled aluminum collar > which you flox into the tank. That way you can see how much fuel you have > while filling it. My small black plastic filler tube leaves it a mystery > until the fuel spills out the top. It's also big enough that a child's > hand could reach in there to jiggle a stuck fuel sender or to remove > debris. There are some other details on making my fuel tanks at http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/wingtank.html and http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/swings.html . I guess I should add these comments to one of them. Mark Langford, Harvest, AL see homebuilt airplane at http://www.N56ML.com email to N56ML "at" hiwaay.net
