F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

[CraigH]

Well, at least I'm not alone. Over the past weekned I've heard from two other T'Craft owners who are having similar difficulties with the factory. Maybe we should start a support group?

[Darren Lucke]

F21B Fuel Tanks.... again

Any news on new tanks from the factory? New mount approval info? Approval help? Sprung a leak in left tank.... kind of a surprise (sorta) to see my blue dyed cash running down the fuselage and wing upon landing yesterday.....

Thoughts on Factory or Harry? Forrest any thoughts?

[CraigH]

Darren,
Contact me off list (email) and I'll give you all kinds of information.
Craig

[Darren Lucke]

Craig,
Tried twice now through "email member"... have you received them?

My email is [email protected]

[CraigH]

To Darren or any of the other F21B owners:

All of the 337 forms for my tank mods are now on record with the FAA. I'd post them here but do not have access to a scanner. If you order the aircraft records data CD from the FAA ($5) they should all be on it as well as the field approval for 8.00 tires.

Hopefully these will help anyone who needs to repair / remount their 21 gallon tanks get an approval from their FSDO as well.

[RobertP]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

The wing repair is just about complete on my somewhat newly acquired F21B. Should be hanging the wing late this week and test flying as soon as weather/winds permit.

Luckily my A&P was able to get his modified fuel tank mount approved by the FAA. This should make legal repairs to the 21 gallon F21B tanks easier in the future. I understand that the factory is also re-designing the tank mounts for the new models, but have not heard how the project is progressing as of late.

Craig,
Do you still have a copy of the FAA approval for the modified mount or further diagrams etc? my F22A srung several leaks at the same brackets which I had rewelded and the wing is now back on and had it's first test flight, but I have a horrible feeling that it is only a matter of time before it goes again or the same happens to the other wing tank! unfortunately I was not aware of this mod when my repair took place but there again I am not sure if the CAA in the UK would have accepted it?

Regards,

Bob Preston (Swansea UK)

[RobertP]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Hi All,

Does this nightmare ever end! there is a slight leak again at the area of the wing root! The engineer pressure tested the tank before they put it back in (saw him do it) and it was ok whilst left standing for a week or so before flight test but after one flight test it is leaking slightly again when left standing! I just hope it is the tank union or from the flexible fuel guage tube (which was not replaced despite my suggestion!) This is all total horse s**t and costing a fortune! I know you guys love your Taylorcraft but I take a different view and can see now why it took the UK CAA 9 years to give the model a Certificate of Airworthiness! Can anyone assist how I locate the tank mod on the FAA website which Craig refers? God forbid another wing off tank repair/replacement/recovering job! any other suggestions apart from perhaps the obvious?

[dennispip]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

I know your frustration on this. The plane I owned had one tank repaired before I bought it and I had to do the other one. But the plane was 20 years old and most planes I have owned have had leaky tanks or bladders. This one is just a pain to deal with and it is really cobbed in there, isn't it? I cannot understand why there are not removable panels above and below the wing where the tank is located so it would not involve a recover. Probably would have been too expensive getting it through the Feds. I think Forrest referred to that years ago in a posting.

I think the problem you now are experiencing is with the flexible tubing that is used for seeing the fuel level. I had a lot of trouble with those and they should be replaced every two years. They get brittle. There is a compression fitting that goes around the tubing inside the nut that tightens and we had a lot of trouble with that leaking on the right hand wing tank side. Hopefully that will be the source of your leak. It can really drip and create a mess and probably a hazard as well. They really should have changed it for you when the tank was reinstalled. I believe the Aviat Husky uses the same kind of sight tubing for their planes. Just don't over tighten the nut as you can create a problem where the threaded part is welded into the tank!

When you get it back in the air and your tanks are dry, you will be back to understanding the love affair, but it is aggravating now, I know. Many of the older BC12s have wing tanks that also leak and are just not used, but they don't have to rely only on the wing tanks to get by.

Good luck!

[Tom Garrick]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Dennis, Could you please give me a call.
Tom Garrick
843-559-2222

Thanks,
Tom

[RobertP]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Dennis,

Thanks for your support. I got the internal side panel off yesterday and I am 99.9 percent sure it is a leak on the inlet / outlet? pipe at the front of the tank which is leaking at the union joint into the tank. The thread is wet and the plastic sight fuel guage appears ok and I can't see evidence of fuel anywhere else so I may be in luck! The engineer said he was loath to overtighten the union for fear of stripping the thread in the very thin tank! so I think it is back to him to sort out! The problem is with the T piece union which has to be turned 360 degrees each time to line up with the feed / outlet pipe and it would be very easy to overtighten it and strip the thread. Would be interesting to know the success rate with Tanks which have been welded at the brackets following leaks and how long they have lasted before the problem reappears? I know to a certain extent it must be down to the quality of the work but would be interested to hear from anyone else who has had it done?

Regards,

Bob Preston.

[CraigH]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Hi All,

Does this nightmare ever end! there is a slight leak again at the area of the wing root! The engineer pressure tested the tank before they put it back in (saw him do it) and it was ok whilst left standing for a week or so before flight test but after one flight test it is leaking slightly again when left standing! I just hope it is the tank union or from the flexible fuel guage tube (which was not replaced despite my suggestion!) This is all total horse s**t and costing a fortune! I know you guys love your Taylorcraft but I take a different view and can see now why it took the UK CAA 9 years to give the model a Certificate of Airworthiness! Can anyone assist how I locate the tank mod on the FAA website which Craig refers? God forbid another wing off tank repair/replacement/recovering job! any other suggestions apart from perhaps the obvious?

Just saw your post (I don't get on here very often since I no longer own a Tcraft). I don't have a copy of the paperwork, but if you order one of the FAA records CD's (available through the FAA website) on N8ZU it should have everything you need. The mods were done as a major modification using a 337. Just a word of warning - the repair wasn't cheap. We had to pull and recover both wings in the process. The plane is currently in Alaska, but I'd be willing to bet she hasn't sprung any new leaks.

[edit] You might try contactiong Dot_Ak (another member of this site). I have just become aware that she knows the new/current owner of N8ZU. The new owner could possibly provide you with copies of the approval information.

[RobertP]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Craig,

Thanks for your help - I flew the aircraft yesterday and the leak would seem to be very slight. The engineer is taking the inside panel off this week to re make the union connections with some sealing lube so hopefully that will do the trick, If not well it looks like it will be back to ordering the CD etc. was the tank problems instrumental in your decision to sell the aircraft? I find my aircraft so light and easily affected by wind and turbulence in comparison to most else I have flown. The guy I purchased the aircraft from said he never flew it in any winds over 15knts so perhaps I should have taken more notice of that remark! I can't see either how these wing tanks would stand up for long with grass strip flying unless the strip was like a putting green! All in all the aircraft has a long way to go before I can consider it to have been anything other than a disasterous purchase as it seems to be very poorly made and the wing tanks are the "icing on the cake" as far as I am concerned. Not what people on this forum want to hear perhaps but just giving an honest view.

Regards,

Bob Preston (UK)

[CraigH]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Bob,
Only reason I sold is that a Citabria I wanted came available. At the time I sold, I had approximately 10K in repairs done to the wings/tanks (as well as a couple other mods) that were done right so I had no fears about the problem remanifesting itself. I would not say that about any other F21B that had not had the modifications we made. Just my opinion, but the wing tank design in these birds is a MAJOR F-U-B-A-R. Why they didn't go with a Piper type mounting system I'll never know.

Mine did get knocked about by winds, but with those big ailerons it did have the capability to land in some ugly xwinds once you got the hang of them. I once made a landing with a 22+kt direct xwind in mine. Not something I'd care to do again but the plane was definitely capable of it . . . much more capable than I was.

I looked and I have a copy of the FAA data CD that includes all the 337 information. Send me a Private message or email with your email address and I'll attempt to send the PDF file to you.

[RobertP]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Craig,

That would be helpful perhaps you could send it to: [email protected]

Regards,

Bob Preston.

[CraigH]

Re: F21B is about ready to fly!!!!

Bob,
Headed your way. Hopefully all the grief we went through back in 2004 can be of benefit to someone else.