Wing Tanks 1
The wing tanks are a bit complicated. There are 2, one in each wing. They are built in and structural. Meaning they are not inserts, they are part of the structure of the wing. I opted for the "capacitive sending unit". This is an electronic unit in the tanks instead of the mechanical float type.
The tank area made it into the uttoo's section as I ran into major trouble due to operator error (that would be me).
The tank construction begins with getting the ribs ready. Below is a inboard tank rib. This rib goes against the fuselage and has an accessplate to get to the inside you you ever need to. The wire lead is for the capacitive sending unit. The black stuff is the dreaded "goop" that is used to seal the tank.
Below you see another rib with the sending unit. This unit is basically lust an aluminum plate, hung off the rib with nylon washers, with a wire attached to it. To of these ribs in the tank allow the fuel gage, through capacitive resistance, to know how much fuel is in the tank. I really liked this set up. Looks much simpler that the tank float assembly which would have been standard. Why did I choose the capacitive unit? I dunnoo, sounded like it had to be better that a float.
The picture on the right is a closer view. The hole you see middle and left is for the vent line not yet installed.
Below is a shot of a rib with the tank skin temporarily in place. Don't let the reflections confuse you. Gismo on the top of the skin is the fuel fill hole (where the fuel goes when you tell the gas man to fill er up.). The hole in the bottom right lets fuel flow into the next bay. The hole in the middle right allows fuel to go to the next bay when filling the tanks. The ribs in the tanks, there are 12 of them, are structural and functional. They act as a baffle to keep the fuel from sloshing around, as well as add strength to the wing. Pretty neat!!
Here is a tank with the skin temporarily on, checking alignment. Looks like a porcupine huh? Those thingy's sticking out are Clecos, they hold the skin in place while you drill each and every hole. Every other hole gets one of these as you drill.
Last Updated Tuesday, November 05, 2002