I am awaiting a shipment from Van's containing some needed Clecos so in the interim I am accomplishing a few miscellaneous tasks. Today I used my newly acquired fly cutter to open the access port in the right tank root rib. The cutter worked well but be advised, you have to be sure the work piece is clamped securely in the drill press. Fly cutters are accidents waiting to happen if you don't take extreme care. Anyway, I cut the material out and match drilled the access plate and reinforcement ring as indicated in the shop manual. The rib was then dimpled and the riing was countersunk.
The shop instructions say the ring can be installed without sealant, however, there is a tooling hole located at the extreme outer edge of the ring which is very likely to leak. I don't think the cork gasket will guarantee a leak-proof seal in this area so I intend to use sealant when installing the ring.
I also prepared one of the anti-twist brackets to secure the fuel liine connector and fabricated the trap door to be installed in the left tank as part of the inverted fuel system. I am expecting my Van's order any day so I should be back on track in the next day or two.
