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1. 10:21 PM - Wing Tank sealing (TeamGrumman@aol.com)
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| Subject: | Wing Tank sealing |
--> TeamGrumman-List message posted by: TeamGrumman@aol.com
Yuck. Especially in the cold.
Last year I resealed the inboard rib in a tiger fuel tank. Last year, I
resealed the wing in less than ideal conditons. No apparent leaks for almost
a
year.
When it arrived for an annual this year, the same wing was leaking.
Needless to say, I wasn't anxious to start stripping out the sealant I put in last
year.
Paul, a fellow Grumman Tiger pilot here in Lancaster, has been through the
course in sealing the tanks in a B-2 and has had to reseal the tanks in his
Tiger. Paul did a great deal of the work stripping the old sealing out of the
tank last year. I made him a good deal and he agreed to strip the sealant out
again so I could reseal the tank.
After a very short time, Paul told me he couldn't get the sealant out that I
had put in last year. It was stuck very well. He also told me he couldn't
find any voids which might have cause the leak to reappear. What he
suggested was to remove all of the old sealnat (he hadn't removed the old sealant
where the old sealant looked good.) and to continue with removing all of the old
sealant around the leading edge and portions toward the trailing edge. Then
remove all of the sealnt on the doublers on the tank and spar and reseal the
whole tank bay. So, that's what I did.
Brian Sandberg (He owns the blue Tiger I'm using to test the new cowling)
volunteered to help with the removal of the old sealant. Several hours later,
the tank was ready to cleanup and heat up and get ready for new sealant.
Yesterday, Brian built a tent around the fuel tank/wing and, using a couple of
500
Watt Quarts lights for heat, created a method for preheating the tank to 75
degrees. Within an hour the temperature inside the tank was 95 degrees.
Next, I used a heating pad to pre-heat the sealant to 80 degrees so it would be
near room temperature prior to use.
24 hours later, the entire inboard rib and doublers were resealed. The tent
was replaced and will be left in place for 48 hours.
After 48 hours, I'm going to fill the tank and look for leaks. BEFORE I put
it back on the plane.
Gary
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