Guest Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 For those who are interested, I snapped this picture of the inside of a Cirrus SR22 fuel tank. We have it open to repair a porosity in the composite skin. Even with composite construction they still use PRC sealant and they have occasional leaks. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 I guess the composites are pretty stable, but I would have figured they'd be more prone to leaking vs a metal wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peevee Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 It's extremely uncommon for a Cirrus tank to leak. They have much fewer joints than the skin of a Mooney The early planes are 20 years old now and no sign of needing reseals like the Mooney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Fuel tank repairs are quit rare, this is the first leak we’ve had to do. Another repair is a breakdown of the electrical bond between the filler neck and the mesh in the composite skin. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 So are the composites okay with the solvents used to remove the sealant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Is that a Cies fuel level sensor in there? Our Cies guy likes Cirrus... they have purchased a few.... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 52 minutes ago, rbridges said: So are the composites okay with the solvents used to remove the sealant? The sealant is removed mechanally, solvent is used to remove the fuel from the porosity, resin is drawn from inside to outside and sealant coated over the inside. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 49 minutes ago, carusoam said: Is that a Cies fuel level sensor in there? Our Cies guy likes Cirrus... they have purchased a few.... Best regards, -a- Not in this one, you are looking at the bottom of the filler port and cap and the partial fuel tab. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 16 minutes ago, M20Doc said: The sealant is removed mechanally, solvent is used to remove the fuel from the porosity, resin is drawn from inside to outside and sealant coated over the inside. Clarence Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradp Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Looking at the raptor build videos they sloshed around a ton of sealant in their tanks. I’m pretty surprise to see what appears to be uncovered composite- am I just seeing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Fuel tank repairs are quit rare, this is the first leak we’ve had to do. Another repair is a breakdown of the electrical bond between the filler neck and the mesh in the composite skin. Clarence What year is it?Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Looking at the raptor build videos they sloshed around a ton of sealant in their tanks. I’m pretty surprise to see what appears to be uncovered composite- am I just seeing wrong? I would think they could coat the composite with a avgas resistant compound. But the question is, when they develop a replacement for 100LL, will the chemical additives be corrosive?Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, bradp said: Looking at the raptor build videos they sloshed around a ton of sealant in their tanks. I’m pretty surprise to see what appears to be uncovered composite- am I just seeing wrong? Sealant is only applied at joints and skin laps, rib flanges etc. other than that it’s bare epoxy resin over composite. Clarence Edited February 17, 2019 by M20Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 2 hours ago, ArtVandelay said: What year is it? Tom It’s a 2004 SR 22, one of about 30 we maintain and the only one to leak so far, even the access panels don’t leak. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peevee Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, carusoam said: Is that a Cies fuel level sensor in there? Our Cies guy likes Cirrus... they have purchased a few.... Best regards, -a- I think the gen 5 and 6 planes come with cies senders from the factory. The senders in the 1-3 fail occasionally. It's something like 5k to upgrade to the cies. The gauges are basically useless as long as you enter your fuel into perspective. Out totalizer is accurate to about a tenth of a gallon over a 5 hour flight. It's hard to see when you've filled to tabs with the small fuel necks and a large nozzle but a hell of a lot easier than dealing with monroy tanks and never knowing how much gas you really have. We have learned the hard way it's generally very bad to let a shop that isn't a cirrus service center work on the plane Our plane is an 08 and considered a dinosaur in the Cirrus world but Cirrus factory support is still good even our the "old" planes. It's almost like they understand that keeping owners happy sells more planes. Edited February 17, 2019 by peevee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vorlon1 Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 10 hours ago, peevee said: Our plane is an 08 and considered a dinosaur Ok, That says something.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peevee Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, vorlon1 said: Ok, That says something.... That they actually improve their product? It sure does. 50 years later Mooney adds a second door. Edited February 18, 2019 by peevee 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcrmckenna Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 That they actually improve their product? It sure does. 50 years later Mooney adds a second door. I guess when you find perfection 50 years ago a second door is the only thing you can expect.... Sorry couldn’t pass up that point... Normally I’m good with picking on Cirrus’. But last week I spent 7.6 hours in one of their full simulators and 6 days taking IR instruction with one of their top instructors Mike Radomsky in my plane. It’s true you acclimate to the side yoke in moments. He “learned” me a lot about the plane built with a chute. Mike let me poke and prod his plane and look over his POH when we were not flying. I don’t think I can talk trash about them anymore. I’m planning on doing formation training with the C2A group March 1st. Now all my trash talk is directed at Bonanza owners and pilots...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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