Thursday October 23, 2008
Fuel Tank De-Leaking, Misc
(0.3 Hours Fuel Tanks, 0.2 Hours Wings)
0.5 Hours Total

When I checked after work today, the balloon was somewhat deflated--not as bad as before, but the tank was obviously still leaking. I'd noticed some minor bubbling in this spot where the vent line exits the tank the other night, so I checked it again this afternoon. Sure enough, there was a leak here.

So I dried it off and mixed up a small batch of pro seal and sealed the outside around this fitting. I must have missed a spot when I sealed this inside the tank. I'll check for leaks again after this sealant has cured.

While I had the spray bottle out, I checked all of the flush rivets along the fuel tank ribs and didn't notice any bubbling at all. That's a good thing, since those are the only spots that are difficult to fix once the tank is closed. Anything on the sides or bottom of the tank would have easy access.

Moving on... When I ran the conduit through the right wing, I'd dabbed a little bit of RTV on each of these holes where the conduit passes through the ribs, but I felt like I should ring the conduit completely with RTV, so I did that for all of the holes. Just a little extra peace of mind to know that the conduit isn't getting vibrated apart.

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