Building A Fiberglas Fuel Tank By Harold J. Burrell, EAA 12555 1209 Salem Street, Aurora, Colo. WAS AT A LOSS to find a fuel tank of the shape, size and capacity required for the modified Lincoln I"Sport" I have under construction, so I thought that I would try my hand at building one. The pattern was made in short order, using ordinary box cardboard and masking tape. It incorporated stiffener baffles inside. Countless holes were punched in it with an ice pick for a good bond, and the exterior was finished with cheesecloth and wallboard-joint cement. I was able to build the rounded contours at the corners and edges in this way, and to get a fairly smooth surface finish. A couple of coats of paint followed by sanding, then the application of a coat of mold relief, and waxing and buffing it finished the pattern. A flat was formed at the top for the filler neck and a little sump at the bottom forward end for the fuel tap-off line. Impact resin and catalyst, fiberglas, mold relief and wax were obtained at a local plastics shop. One of the five layers was fiberglas mat. One morning I got brave and decided to give it a go. A problem is in handling the thing and turning it while doing the work. Have plenty of acetone available for
The coln with fuel The
modified Lin'Sport' is shown the fiberglas tank installed. straps are in
place, but the felt padding has yet to
The finished fuel tank is exactly what the builder had in mind when he started, and was fabricated at a relatively low cost.
spliced together again. However, after it set up, I filled it with water through the filler hole and let it set for a couple of hours. It softened the cardboard and I was able to pull the cardboard and other goo out of the filler opening and to clean up the inside. A finish coat of surface resin was then applied.
A flanged filler neck was obtained and installed on the flat over the hole, using fiberglas overlays over it. Holes were drilled in the flange first for a good bond. The sump fitting and a vent fitting were installed in a similar manner. Chrome-moly strips hold the tank in place, and felt padding has to be installed before the tank goes in permanently. The tank holds 16 gallons and, if not painted, is translucent, so I am toying with the idea of making calibration marks on the bottom and aft end of the tank so an actual visual check can be made of the fuel in flight, possibly using a penlight and mirror arrangement with a viewer slot cut in the instrument panel. *
be fitted.
frequent cleaning of the hands before starting this. It is better to lay all of the layers in one operation, if possible, but it could be done in steps if the old surface was sanded well and cleaned with acetone to remove a wax film which forms on the surface. So, a couple of layers were laid on, and the rest applied at a later session.
At first, it appeared as though the tank would have to be cut in half to remove the pattern, and the two halves
APOLOGY . . . An oversight occurred in the captioning of the very fine cover picture for the July SPORT AVIATION in that we failed to identify the charming lady who appeared with the Turner T-40. She is Mrs. Marion L. Bell, EAA 24769, 3713 Quapah Circle, Oklahoma City, Okla., and we hope that she will accept our apology. * STITS PROPELLER SPINNER F.A.A. Approved
For most light aircraft using fixed pitch propellers on horizontal opposed engines. Size 8" diameter x
11M-" length. Installation kit includes all hardware with cut out templates and illustrated mounting instructions.
Aircraft Construction Materials See May issue for a complete listing or write for FREE BROCHURE.
STITS AIRCRAFT CORPORATION P. O. Box 3084-S
Riverside, Calif. 92509
Each Prepaid
$25.00
STITS AIRCRAFT CORPORATION P. O. Box 3084-S
Riverside, Calif. 92509 SPORT AVIATION
39
