Remove wing tanks

[Guest]

Re: Remove wing tanks

I think that the wings have to be removed to add or remove the tanks.
The drag and antiidrag wires at the root will have to be removed therefore I say that the wing must be removed.
Also the drag/anti-drag wires have to be threaded thru the tank so I am also thinking that the root fittings and the first compression tube have to be removed also.

Has someone found a way to avoid the work that I described?

Dave

[KRW]

Re: Remove wing tanks

I had a problem with leaking fuel tanks that took awhile find the problem. After about the 2nd or 3rd time of removing and repairing, I really started looking for the problem. Part of it was me,filling the tanks on a cool morning or evening and not flying right away. And having the vent tubes in the fuel cap allow for proper draining, but they weren't allowing the pressure to release when the fuel started warming up. Thus splitting the tank at the seams. After reaming out the vent tube problem gone. But I also do not fill the wing tanks until time to fly.

Keith Willoughby
N3560t

[Pearson]

Re: Remove wing tanks

I removed my tanks with the wings still attached and everything all hooked up. They were both leaking where the fuel line goes in at the root. The hardest part was unscrewing the drag and anti drag wires. I went to several bicycle shops to get a spoke wrench of the correct size. No one had what I needed so I made one myself. I used 3/16" thick steel. I cut it into a small triangle shape with the points squared off, and folded the edges over. Then, using a high speed cutoff wheel, I cut a square bottomed notch the same size as the locknuts on the drag wires. Once I had the correct tool, it was just a matter of being patient while I unscrewed the locknuts on the wires. Whoever put the wing together had used tiny little wire ties to keep the nipples on the end of the drag wires from being pushed up into the fitting at the end of each compression tube. With the fuel line removed, the straps disconnected, and the drag wires unscrewed, I just lifted the tank up in the rear first to remove the antidrag wire. Then I lifted the front up enough to remove the drag wire and the tank was out. The only thing I mess up on was not taking the drain valves out first. The one on the left side tore a little bit of the fabric on the bottom of the wing. But it was easy to patch from the inside with the tank removed.

[Guest]

Re: Remove wing tanks

Very cool thanks for the description.

How did you re-trammel the wing? That is a problem suppose regradless of how one changes the tank.

The only time I changed one I had to also change the root fittings on both spars so it was a bit more messy.

Frankly I ended up just tightening the wires to a resonable tension for the re-trammel.

For a nipple wrench I bought an ignition wrench of the proper size at a hardware store. One could also buy a set from Sears or elsewhere.

Dave

[Pearson]

Re: Remove wing tanks

I counted threads on each nipple to get the wires back to where they were. After I put them back in they didn't seem as tight as before, so I gave each one another turn or two. The problem with using a wrench on the nipples is they are up in the corner between the spar and a rib. The spoke wrench I made fit right up into the corner and was really worth the time to make.

[Guest]

Re: Remove wing tanks

thanks Richard for the advice and info

[Tom G]

Re: Remove wing tanks

All i can say is when my dad bought my plane in 1964 it had both wing tanks and they worked fine. Rebuild #1 removed one and rebuild #2 removed the second one. Today I wish i had them back!