nels

OK, I got all three top panels off. I'm glad I asked the question on this forum as I came up with the right suggestions. I didn't try the solar heat on the panel but started with Pinerunners suggestion to leave the screws in and put a board across the screws with weight. What I did was to leave the end three screws on the radius ends out further than the others. I then put a short 2x4 across with a towel underneath each end.I then stood on the 2x4 shifting my weight from right to left. This loosened the joint enough to get the steak knife in between the panels then I was able to get the skin wedge in and the rest was history. Now that the panels were off I finished draining the gas, washed the tanks with Dawn and water, applied vacuum and started looking for leaks in the outside tank chamber. I found a few small leaks as the bubbles appeared but nothing too gross so far. So tonight I cleaned the soap residue out of the outside chamber, scuffed it with a scotch brite pad and thought I'd wipe it down with enamel reducer. This is what now has me confused! The inside of these tanks appear to be pretty much factory virgin. The seams all have an amber shellac coating on them. When I wiped them down with enamel thinner this shellac coating began to soften and peal so I stopped. What is under the amber sealant is a bubble gum colored chalky substance. When I pushed my screw driver into it it was similar to scraping dried plaster. I was fully expecting something more on the line of silicone sealer. Can anybody straighten me out here? This was on the floor of the outboard tank next to the lower access panel.

I know an empty gas tank is way more dangerous than a full one.

I was thinking about a heat gun but I am concerned about potential sparks around the vapors. Probably ok but still would worry me. However, as an alternative I thought about pushing it out of the hangar tomorrow, it's supposed to be sunny, and put a small section of black roofing rubber over the two panels and see if I can't get Mother Nature's sun to heat up the area and soften the sealant.

One other note worth mentioning. I last flew on the tank I wanted to repair but still had about 10 or 15 gallons of fuel left in it. I needed to get the fuel out of that tank and into the other. I saw that Harbor Freight had manual fuel transfer pumps for sale for $6.99 which included four or five feet of hose for the intake and also for exhaust side. The reviews were good so I bought one. It worked great. About 25 pumps on the cylinder per gallon. Before I used it I bought a fuel filter from the local auto parts store so I could filter the fuel coming out of the wing into the can then again filter it from the can to the other wing tank.

That sounds like a good approach. I got one out this afternoon but two more to go. I may try your board trick tomorrow. I'm not sure where to get 220#'s though. I guess I could stand on the board but not all day and I'm a little short of the 220 #'s. I bus's a towel between the board and the wing would be a good idea. The one I did get lose I started with a razor blade then gently pried just a little with a small flat blade screw driver while inserting the end of a cheap steak knife. I worked it back and forth enough to get the blade through the sealant then gently pried with the screw driver again to get the skin wedge between the skin. After this was accomplished the job went quickly prying up with the skin wedge and cutting the sealant with the steak knife. Didn't damage the paint at all.

The skin wedge is what I bought and the boning knife may be a good starting point. The sealant appears to be a red color. Also, I just got off the phone with Aircraft Spruce and they don't know anything about a special sealant for the access doors. I had purchased a Proseal ac236 sealant for the tank seal. Yes, there are some leaks that I would like to address which is the reason for the inspection cover removal. I figure the annual is a good time to attack the leak.

The inspection panels on my wings have never been removed. I pulled the screws from the inboard panel and the adhesive is reluctant to let the panel lose. I bought a pry tool that was suggested in an earlier thread and I'm sure it will work well but I need a little clearance to get that tool started. Thought about a narrow razor blade but figured I'd ask here first as there may be a standard method that I'm unaware of. Also, I would think there would be a different sealant to use on the panels other that the patching sealant? Something that would make removal easier in the future?

Anybody know where I can buy part number C10Y. 30-6C. It's the threaded "U" shape part of the exhaust clamp. My plane is in annual and just noticed mine is broken.

Wow! I'm sure it will need some money spent on it but it sure looks like a great plane! Buy it.

Joe, I'm sure I'm older than you and my hearing I'm sure closer to the edge than yours but believe me, your hearing is being damaged. Once you realize you have hearing loss it is too late...it doesn't grow back...it's just gone. I once thought the same as you. This is just a cheap suggestion that you and others should consider.

Joe. I've mentioned this before but feel it's worth mentioning again, in my opinion just because the noise cancelling headsets seem to cancel noise well doesn't mean they really are doing what you have been led to believe. When I got back into flying about four or five years ago I bought a set of Zulu's for a huge amount of money as I thought it was the best thing to do for my hearing health. I honestly believe I was wrong! The low frequencies which we readily recognize are cancelled but not much on the high frequency end. Just turn those NC headsets off sometime while in flight and see how effective they are relative to standard set of head phones. You would think they would be equal to the standard sets when off and even better when they are on but not the case. My high frequency hearing is just about gone as I bought into the sales bs. I've found out just recently that foam earplugs used in conjunction with the noise canceling work pretty well and I can actually hear voice communication over the radio better than with just the Zulu's. My hearing does not seem to be affected anymore after a flight where as before with just noise cancelling my ears would be ringing for some time. As I mentioned in a prior thread, the birds quit singing outside my window in the morning. I would strongly suggest anybody with noise cancelling headsets to try the foam earplugs along with their NC headsets. It's better to try it out now than wish you did when it's too late. I really don't like preaching but just wish I could turn the clock back four or five years and invest in 10 cents worth of foam ear plugs each time I went out flying.

What do you guys use to clean the windshield etc.? I've been using just polish but tried Windex the other day and in doing so those splattered bugs sure came off easy. Is there any problem using any particular detergents when washing the plane and the plexiglass windows?

Dave, what did 6 gph do to the airspeed. That's a huge change in fuel flow. I just started playing with fuel flow u at 7000 ft but I seem to remember engine roughness about .7 to 1.0 gal under book . I didn't record anything so shooting from the hip on those numbers.

I think this may have something to do with it. Higher rpm during climb typically means a steeper climb which means oil at the back of the oil pan is deeper than at cruise or a lower rpm climb. Maybe the vent puts more oil over board at this time just as it typically does when you fill it to eight quarts.

I know many on the forum think little about hearing loss simply because they have not noticed loss themselves. I have been aware of my own hearing loss recently as I've finally passed that threshold of realization. When I got back into flying four or five years ago I bought a set of Lightspeed state of the art noise canceling headsets thinking it was my best deterant for hearing loss. I think I was wrong. I've seemed to kept the low frequency hearing fairly well but have just about lost the high frequency range. It's pretty disheartening when you can no longer wake up in the morning and hear birds sing just outside your bedroom window. Someone mentioned in a previous post that they use foam ear plugs under their headset so I tried this the other day and was amazed at the improvement! I could hear the conversation way better, actually turned the volume down, and I assume the high frequencies were probably substantially blocked by the plugs while the low frequencies were blocked by the noise cancelling headset. I only wish I had taken this approach five years ago, maybe I'd still be able to hear birds sing in the AM. So, in my book, don't be lulled down the path thinking noise cancelling headsets give great all around hearing protection, I don't think they do. I'm not an audiologist but I think the best hearing protection might be a set of Clarity Aloft type with a secondary noise cancelling set on top of these. If nothing else just try the foam earplugs under your headset. Once your hearing is gone it doesn't just somehow come back. Take care of it while you can!

I changed my oil for the first time a couple weeks ago. I warmed up the engine, attached the hose to the quick drain and locked it open. Nothing came out until I removed the dipstick to vent the crankcase, then all hell broke lose and I had oil all over. The next mess was pulling the oil filter....oil all over again. I did change the oil filter after flying it home after the purchase and an annual with oil change. I had about four hours on the oil/ filter change and I wanted to open the filter to some what verify engine condition. The plane set for a few days prior to removal and there was no mess at all while removing the filter. I assume the oil drained back into the engine over time. So, next time I'll warm the engine, drain the oil then wait a day or so without running the engine and then change the filter. Does this sound like a good approach?

There's a lot of energy consumed and air temperature dropped when converting water to vapor. I think maybe more than converting ice to water pound per pound. Someone was concerned with getting rid of the water after it melts in his ice cooler/ac unit. Just dripping water on a screen and blowing air across it will turn water to vapor and reduce the air temperature dramatically. Some places have hot but dry weather and a combination ice melter and water evaporation may work well and extend the flight cooling capabilities well beyond just melting ice.

Are evaporative coolers out of the question for some reason?

If anybody wants to sell a set of Halos or similar at a good price, let me know or pm me. I would like to try them out.

Hank, maybe somebody will chime in and set us both straight. haha. Might even be a good discussion in a seperate topic?

Hank, you have me scratching my head. Are you saying that a three blade prop should be 50% louder since the blade length is the same or is the pitch changed in order to handle the same gross amount of air but just less work per blade? If the later is the case wouldn't the three blade be quieter as it should be more efficient aerodynamically? I really don't know but it is an interesting question. I have been told a three blade is quiter and reasoned it to be so....but I could certainly be wrong.

Way back in the old days when everybody had fans in their house instead of AC units, the fan companies went from two blade to three, four and even more blades to cut down noise. I would think the same would apply to our airplane props?

I checked my J model at cruise last summer and it was around 95 db's. I used a free app on the cell phone. I do think most of the noise comes from the firewall and windshield. The thicker windshield would probably reduce the noise somewhat. A three blade prop might also help. Closed cell foam is probably a good idea when insulating as it doesn't absorb water.

I don't know. That's why I'm asking. Are you saying it is the same thing? to clarify, I'm thinking a set of headphones that are not plugged in, but just being used as additional noise cancelling.