My aircraft is a Classic with the long aluminium filler tube, which was
installed
several years ago and I continue to use ordinary unleaded fuel obtained from
any large turnover local garage or supermarket. I have changed all my hoses
and continued to check the tank bottom outlet coarse filters annually since the
introduction of ethanol. No significant dirt nor any water was ever found and
all hoses remain in good condition even after 5 years since the last
replacement.
By the way, the prescribed method of tested for ethanol employing a glass tube
etc never shows ethanol to me, although someone who used to use the chemical
testing
kit when it was obtainable did detect ethanol. However I take comfort that
pilots in at least one South American country are using fuel with 20% or higher
ethanol content and seemingly don't report problems.
Since the introduction of ethanol I've never found so much as a drop of water in
fuel samples, probably because ethanol "mops it up". Prior to that I did very
rarely find a drop or two, usually when the fuel tank hadn't been filled after
flight and I'd waited a few days until refilling the tank before going flying
again. Consequently I strive to ensure that the tank is filled completely up
to an inch or so below the cap immediately after flying, keeping the aircraft
tilted slightly to the left when filling to get maximum into the tank. My
aircraft's
been converted to nose wheel, so possibly more fuel can be accommodated
than is normal for a mono and maybe less likely for an empty space in the
aluminium
filler tube due to deck angle.
It seems to me that condensation droplets which might accumulate in the
starboard
side of the tank would normally remain in the bottom and wouldn't be able to
cross over the tunnel to the port side in most circumstances. The port side
is what I have selected for all flights except for the annual permit renewal
test
flight. Having said all of this, your theory seems plausible in the absence
of any other explanation.
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