Not a ton of plane work for having the past 9 days off work. but enough to keep me moving forward at a decent pace.
- Assembled left tank with the rear baffle & skin stiffeners. Mated to the tank to the wing. The fit was absolutely perfect!
- Match drilled all tank ribs, stiffeners and leading edge / tank reinforcement strip. Match drilled in-board most z-bracked to the #1 tank rib / rear baffle.
- Remove the leading edge and match drilled the out-board most z-bracket to the #7 tank rib / rear baffle.
- Dissasembled the tank leaving the #1, #7 ribs in place on the wing holding the rear baffle in the ""perfect fit"" location & I proceeded to match drill the remaining z-brackets using the rear baffle as a guide.
-Reassembled tank and countersunk the skin for the rear baffle attachement rivets.
- Fabricated the ""flapper doors"" for both tanks, lightnening hole plug plates for the #2 ribs. This restricts fuel from flowing away from the in-board fuel cell during aerobatic maneuvers. This fuel cell is where fuel is picked up and supplied to the engine. I will only have a ""flop tube"" (inverted fuel pick up) in the right tank but with the blessing of Van's, I elected to make this modification to both tanks. Having more fuel immidiately availble in both tanks is better than just one tank (in the name of SAFETY). Plus, it will help with balancing the fuel in the individual tanks & keep the lateral CG reletively balanced during aerobatics.
-Fabricated the vent lines for both tanks and the out-board vent line attach clips that support the vent lines in the tanks highest point.
- Used a fly-cutter and cut the access panel holes in both #1 ribs & match dilled the access panel cover plate & retaining ring.
- Mated the fuel cap & drain valve flanges to the tank skin.
- Drilled the in- board tank attach bracket to the #1 ribs & located the flop tube through hole in the right tank attachment bracket.
- Located and drilled the fuel pick up line in the access panel of the left tank.
