Fuel tank under construction. Tank is made
from 1/4" Lastofoam and Vinyl Ester resin.
The Vinyl Ester smell was pretty bad, even
after I added a chemical additive to reduce
the emissions. Good thing I am only using it
on the tank, otherwise I doubt I could
survive building a fiberglass airplane. I
glassed the four sides first on a flat table then
floxed them into place to the forward deck.
from 1/4" Lastofoam and Vinyl Ester resin.
The Vinyl Ester smell was pretty bad, even
after I added a chemical additive to reduce
the emissions. Good thing I am only using it
on the tank, otherwise I doubt I could
survive building a fiberglass airplane. I
glassed the four sides first on a flat table then
floxed them into place to the forward deck.
The fuel tank is built integral into the foward
deck. I have made the entire top deck
removable with four mounting points on the
firewall and two each side. I have left about
10" clear behind the tank for instrument
panel radios, etc.
deck. I have made the entire top deck
removable with four mounting points on the
firewall and two each side. I have left about
10" clear behind the tank for instrument
panel radios, etc.
Tank dimesions are 12" length x 12" height
x 32" width overall. There is cutout for the
firewall shelf of 3" length x 4" height x 32"
width. I figure about 16 to 17 gallons of
fuel when completed. I used 2 layers of
fiberglass inside. I added extra 2" tapes
inside at all the corners. Outside is 1 layer
of fiberglass with tapes at all corners.
x 32" width overall. There is cutout for the
firewall shelf of 3" length x 4" height x 32"
width. I figure about 16 to 17 gallons of
fuel when completed. I used 2 layers of
fiberglass inside. I added extra 2" tapes
inside at all the corners. Outside is 1 layer
of fiberglass with tapes at all corners.
Fuel Sender added to the instrument
panel side of the tank. I was originally
going to use a clear sight gauge but
finally went for the mechanical float
gauge with sender. On the final leak
test I found some leaks on the bottom
panel (the last piece floxed on). I was
able to fix the leaks fairly easily by
squirting in some epoxy through the
bottom flange, then allowing it to flow
in and along the seams by tilting the
tank on the edges.
panel side of the tank. I was originally
going to use a clear sight gauge but
finally went for the mechanical float
gauge with sender. On the final leak
test I found some leaks on the bottom
panel (the last piece floxed on). I was
able to fix the leaks fairly easily by
squirting in some epoxy through the
bottom flange, then allowing it to flow
in and along the seams by tilting the
tank on the edges.
