Day’s 7-8

We have begun getting the fuel tanks ready. There is quite a bit that goes into getting everything ready before we’re ready to seal and rivet the tanks together.

First we started by finding all the parts and pieces that go into these assemblies. There are two main tanks and two long range tanks. So lots of pieces.

Second, once all the parts have been sorted out we start the tedious process of pulling the protective plastic off of all the parts. As we did so we marked them with the reference number found in the manual so that when we go to build the assemblies we’ll know which parts they are. Special care is needed when removing the plastic from the main skins so as not to warp the thin sheeting.

Third we take all the parts and scuff the contacting surfaces. This must be done because the sealant will not stick and will peel off. It takes some time as well because everything on the leading edge is dimpled. Each dimple has to be hand scuffed to insure proper adhesion. We also did this to the skins, inside and out. Then on the outside we scuffed and sanded the whole surface.

Fourth we Cleco’ed the structures all together so that we can clear drill ALL of the holes. So you Cleco every other hole, clear drill, move the cleco’s over one hole and clear drill again. This process is done because if you were to do this step when sealing and riveting the tanks it would be very messy drilling through the sealant. As well as you would have the metal shavings trapped in the sealant and insides of the tanks which would not be good at all. So the tanks have to be fully assembled and clear drilled. Then once that’s done you disassemble the who’ll thing.

Fifth, after disassembling the tanks we go around and de-bur all the holes that were drilled. As well as mount and drill the fill and drain fittings. The fill fittings get countersunk to accommodate the dimpled holes.

Lastly we will fit the fuel fittings. Then they tanks will be all prepped and ready for sealing once our order of 3M sealant arrives.

We managed to fully prepare the long range tanks over the past two days. We have the main tanks about halfway completed. We’ll be able to finish those tomorrow.