HI Guys,
I am a bit reluctant to stick my neck out but I have a possible reason and
solution for your smelly climbs.
When my Europa was about 2 years old, 9 years now, We had the same problem
with fuel smell after take-off and came to a conclusion which has not been
mentioned in the discussions on this subject. So here goes.
We think it depends on which side you fuel tank vent is on. In this exampl
e the vent is in the usual place on the Starboard side top front corner of
the tank. So as you climb out into a right hand circuit the right wing is
going to be lower than the left for long periods. The fuel in the tank sl
urps to the right. The result is a pocket of air trapped on the upper left
side of the tank. The size of the pocket of air is dependent on how full th
e tank is at the time. As the plane climbs the pressure drops and the pock
et of air expands. Assuming the fuel is covering the actual fuel vent on th
e right then there is nowhere for the fuel to go other than up the vent and
pour over the back of the fuselage. I think that it is this that creates t
he smell of fuel that only lasts a short time. We experienced this phenomen
on with ours and noticed there was no smell if the tanks were less than abo
ut 1/2 full.
Also trying to reproduce the problem was easy. After take-off with nearly f
ull tanks I flew a long gently curved climb to the right which promptly obl
iged with a strong fuel smell. As a result we put in an additional vent on
the other side of the tank.
There have been no fuel smells in the climb since.
Those with this smell could try this and then do it again with 1/2 tanks.
Also level up in the climb out every now and then to release the air to the
vent on the right and see if it stops it.
Obviously your vents may be different but you can apply the theory.
There are numerous potential sites for a fuel leak but when it is only in t
he climb it has got to be climb related. I notice everyone is most specific
about it happening in the climb.
I may be talking bunk but it is surely worth discussion J.
Fly safe
Justin Kennedy
G-ZTED Europa Mono 912S Airmaster Prop
East of Scotland Strut
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