A little progress XL H-58

[Chuck in Indiana]

Wing back on, almost back to where I started a couple of days ago.  If a guy squints really hard, he might not notice the tank has been out..

Of course the paint doesn't match, the tank area has 2 coats, and the rest of the wing has one very sparse one. Easy repair with Polytone.. I wonder how easy it would have been to repair one that had been coated with house paint and primer. That was one of my decisions when I decided to spend the big bux on poly fiber. I just *knew* that stupid wing tank would leak sooner or later and it would have to come out. I didn't think it would be before I even ran the engine, though. 

[Wayne Munich]

I had the right tank out twice on my Stinson, 70 year old weld cracks.

[jrbirdman47]

Chuck, after repairing something and looking at the results, my Dad used to say: "There! A man going by on horseback couldn't tell the difference!" Your fix comes in well above that threshold, so you're good to go! 

[Chuck in Indiana]

I had the right tank out twice on my Stinson, 70 year old weld cracks.

My Commonwealth Skyranger taught me how to cut and repair fabric over both tanks. Yeah, I just *know* that wing tanks gonna leak..
Sender issues with the Monocolt.. but didn't have to cut fabric.
Stinsons.. yeah.
Great Lakes. The center section is the fuel tank, and.. it carries drag and anti drag loads. Even skinning the center section with plywood didn't stop leaks. That's the Achilles heel of the Great Lakes.
Fuel tank leakage has been the bane of my existence. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

First time out of the hanger.. let's see if it will run.

Nope. Battery is dead. 

No, I'm not going to prop it. Ordered a lithium battery charger. It's always something. 

[Wayne Munich]

looks great! I am really jealous. All I have is an engine and the nose ribs.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Thanks, Wayne! Unfortunately, I gave away all the tooling..or I'd send it to you.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Broke the surly bonds this evening..    I wasn't planning on flying, the tach wasn't working.. just a hop off the ground. It has adequate power  and was 20 feet in the air before I knew it. Flies normally. The Lovely Assistant took a video with my phone. If I can figure out how to post it, I will..

[Kamcoman77]

CONGRATULATIONS!! I hope you can get the video posted. I'll bet Bullet looks great in the air.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Let's try this. Try not to be underwhelmed.

[okdonn]

Flying on the first run, outstanding! Great work.

[Dan_]

Outstanding young man!  Looks and sounds awesome.  You have to be tickled...

[Chuck in Indiana]

Flying on the first run, outstanding! Great work.

Yeah.. it flew. Not very far,though.  I hadn't even done fuel flow tests yet.. It just happened to be one of those rare days in February in Indiana where the wind wasn't howling and it was 50 degrees.
Did the fuel flow test today.. and hopped it off the ground again before the wind started coming up. There is some weather coming in, so it will be a while. Need to change the geometry on the throttle, it's entirely too sensitive. Plenty of time to do that when I take the tank out again.      I can't imagine it leaking with all the pressure testing, Dawn and water in a squirt bottle, etc. I've done, but the spots on the floor don't lie. It will be *fixed* before even going around the patch. Down in flames is no joke..

[Chuck in Indiana]

If I had been smart, I'd have sewed in a zipper. 

Got the tank out again, and the dye showed the leak in an almost inaccessible place.  Have to cut off the mounting flange, reweld, weld the flange back on, sew up the fabric again, tape, paint.. that last 5% stuff that takes 90% of the time. 

[Kamcoman77]

Have you had the chance to take Bullet back up again?