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The best way to KNOW what you have usable is to fly a wing dry and see how much you can put back in it. I can put 24.7 per side in my plane, the book says 24.4 per side. I'm sure they all vary slightly. Is it enough that it really matters if you're being smart with reserves? No but, I still like to know for sure. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

While a Bravo is thirsty, it's also fast. Think of it in miles per gallon instead of gallons per hour and it gets a lot more efficient. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

Not quite. I made a fuel stop at NCR, a little north of Destin. Normally, I'd have stopped around Mobile. I probably could've made it to Tampa with no reserves if I was dumb enough to try it. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

The G5 is in MPH to match the POH speeds. It's easier than converting it all to knots. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

I'm hoping by the time I go home next week they won't be as bad. I'll probably have to go back much lower, at 4,000 winds were only about 8 knots, they picked up significantly between 7 and 9. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

That's a big part of it, I'm basically retired myself so I've got the time, I'd rather be doing something than nothing. I'm going to have Dugosh do the sealing part, David and I have already talked about it. I know he'll do a good job and I won't have any leaks when he's done so I'm not really worried about that part. I just need to do the mindless grunt work and there's something cathartic about just zoning out and doing manual labor for me. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

Where's the fun in that? I actually want to try this myself. I realize I may very well regret it but, I like to see if I think things are really as bad as people say they are. Sometimes, it turns out that everyone was 100% correct and I make a mistake. At least I learn something in the process. Everyone of us in this group disregard "common knowledge" to some extent or we wouldn't be flying cramped, difficult to land airplanes that will instantly go into an unrecoverable spin if stalled and mechanics hate to work on... Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

That was my plan. Left tank isn't leaking at all so I'm not messing with it. Right tank has a slow seep that needs to be addressed but, it's only like 1/2 gallon overnight on a full tank and then it stops so it's up high and isn't critical. I just don't fill it until right before departure and fly off the right tank first right now. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

Not too shabby for a 61 year old C. I had 30+ knot tailwinds the entire trip from Kerrville to W Palm Beach. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

I think I could probably get it done on my own in the same timeframe. 2 weeks to strip, a week to seal and test the tanks. I like doing stuff myself and I have the time, it'll be more convenient than taking somewhere if it doesn't turn into an absolute s-show. I'm expecting tedious, time consuming work to strip it. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

I've read several threads on here about this task including one from around 2020 where someone was building a recirculating system. I think building something to recirculate the solvent would be easy enough, I probably have everything I'd need to do it in the shop already. The consensus seems to be not to do this yourself but, I'm hard headed and have to experience things for myself. I'm sure it's time consuming and tedious but, it isn't really difficult. I'm pretty good and zoning out and working on mind numbing tasks, like standing at a blast cabinet for 2 - 3 hours. Sometimes it's actually nice. I'm also not a big guy at 5' 6" and 130 pounds so, it should be a little more comfortable for me than it would be for a bigger guy.

Thanks, that's really helpful. Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?

Thank you. I won't do anything before April or May at the earliest. I may buy some Polygone and test it on some painted airplane parts to see how it reacts. I can deal with a little around the panels, I just don't want to have to repaint the bottom of my wings or my mains after stripping the sealant. Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

Thanks, I've got good, very experienced support for putting the new sealant on if I can get it off. He uses MEK to take it off for patches, I just wasn't sure if there might be a better option. I've been told that the method of pumping through the tank will result in some paint removal as the sealant goes away and it starts to leak out, did you experience much of that? I could easily build a recirculating system with a pump and some spray nozzles but, I don't want to damage the paint since it's in pretty good shape.

We patched a small leak in one of my tanks at annual last week and when we were in there, it became pretty apparent that a reseal was on order. The sealant is starting to bubble up and will be pulling away before much longer, it looked bad. Since I'm flying a C with the small tanks, I thought I'd attempt this myself on one side instead of taking it somewhere. I've read mixed reviews on that idea, some people said they wish they'd never started it and others said it wasn't all that bad. For those of you that have done this and didn't think it was all that bad, what process or chemical did you use to strip the old sealant off? Did you just scrape it off manually or is there something I can put on it to soften it up first? Any tips are appreciated.