Left Fuel Tank

October 2, 2003

The construction of the fuel tanks gets emotions stirred up. Those who haven't started them yet dread it and those who have completed them say it wasn't as bad as imagined. Well, here goes! The key to a good tank is making sure it gets properly sealed. This is where the dreaded fuel tank sealant comes in. More detail on tank sealer will follow when I get to the point of using the stuff. There are not too many components that go into the tank construction. Today I laid out the parts and began to cleco the ribs to the skin.

October 3-4, 2003

It's a bit of a challenge to get the ribs cleco'ed to the skins. Learning from the leading edge construction, the ribs need to be properly fluted and the flanges have to be 90 degrees to the webs. I also had to spread open the skin a little because I think they are a little over formed. It took me two days to get the ribs cleco'ed to the skin but I managed. I even test fit the tank to the spar just to see how the fit was. Looked pretty good.

October 5, 2003

Removed tank from spar and placed back in the cradle. Fabricated tank skin stiffeners. Began work on tank attach brackets.                        

October 5-6, 2003

Marked and drilled tank attach brackets per plans.

Match drilled the brackets to the rear tank baffle. Deburred holes and edges on brackets and rear baffle. Began cleco'ing the tank baffle to the skins but ran out of clecos. I ordered 200 more from Cleaveland Aircraft Tool.

October 9, 2003

Next step is to match drill the tank brackets to the main spar. Temporary blind rivets hold the bracket on the tank baffle while match drilling to the spar. Right photo shows tank cleco'ed to the rest of the wing assembly.

After clecoing the bottom wing skins on the wing skeleton, it is  time for one more check for twist in the wing by hanging a plumb line on each end of the wing and measuring the distance from the string to the skin near the trailing edge. Tolerance is 3/32". I had about 1/16" or so distance at both edges so everything looks good.

October 11-12, 2003

Match drilled the tank skin. Instructions call for machine countersinking the aft tank skin holes for the tank baffle.