Friends,
in the middle of the flying season I'm in for a fuel tank replacement on my
Europa
XS Trigear (first flight 2001, after a couple of flight hours converted to
a Trigear and second first flight as such in 2004).
To make a long story short we have an unusual dry and hot (almost 40C) summer
here
in Germany. I was on holidays for two weeks when my Europa was stored in its
enclosed trailer with a full tank (like always). After I returned, fuel leaked
---From the access holes under the belly by about one drop per second. I
immediately
checked fuel filler hose, fuel gascolators, hose connections on the tank
bottom to no avail. Then I began to drain the tank and after I drained about
15 litres no more fuel leaked. I inspected the tank through the spar holes and
every point I could see but didn't discover a crack. Still hoping, that it
would only be fuel expansion due to the extreme temperatures and although I
already
knew better in the back of my mind I refueled again with the same amount
of fuel and the dropping started again - of course.
Since I've heard of a couple of Europas with cracked tanks I'm now thinking of
installing the aluminium tank of Bill and Sue Sisley from New Zealand. This
seems
the way to go, since the plastic tank is obviously not up for the job in the
longer run. Another advantage might be its resistance against Ethanol which
will become more of an issue in the future.
Is there anybody else of you out there using an aluminium tank instead of
plastic?
Any experiences and thoughts much appreciated.
Regards
Roland
XS TG 914
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