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Preflight those fuel vents


KB4

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On 11/19/2020 at 2:38 PM, toto said:

Anyone have a photo of where exactly you stick this thing during preflight to ensure the vents are clear?

No photo, but it would be into the vents, one on each side, small round hold about 2/3rds outboard, under the leading edge. The vents should be visually checked every pre-flight. Favorite spot for spiders to build nests, or mud daubers.

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2 hours ago, GeeBee said:

It is Germany, they are not allowed to have oil leaks and if they do, they repair them immediately.:D

Ask my Mercedes mechanic.

 

Exhibit 1: BMW Motorrad vs Harley :D

Dan

2015 R1200R

2016 K1600 GT

 

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  • 4 months later...
On 12/16/2020 at 7:33 AM, Graf_Aviator said:

I have 3D-printed fuel vent covers using flex material, they perfectly fit on my Ovation. I have designed the cover with a small breather hole, about 2mm, maybe 1/16" in size. That allows some air exchange but it is definitely not enough for flight operations with the cover on.

So, I have printed a small storage board also which is glued to the back wall of my luggage compartment. It holds both fuel vent covers and the pitot heat cover... In order to not forget to remove these covers I have added a line to both the outside- and regular check list. Just before starting the engine I turn my head and look to the back. If I see 3 red tags, all of the covers are removed.

1093217579_Mooney-1.thumb.jpeg.fadfc2ead87c82f03df5ef6a2a083ee6.jpeg

1227108621_Mooney-2.thumb.jpeg.1faf80895a2f013d591c68e46f18cbc6.jpeg

567333700_Mooney-3.thumb.jpeg.a112764671f740f247c31438543b15d8.jpeg

1082806669_Mooney-4.thumb.jpeg.2ead399af3a6a00d9a46c1a4c41c480f.jpeg

In case anyone is interested and wants to print it, I have posted the parts on thingiverse.

Thingiverse Download

Or if you are in my neck of the woods, come by my house in Munich for a chat and I'll print them for you. (After Covid19 has eased of...)

Happy landings !

 

Downloaded and uploaded to makexyz.com.  $31.  Came in the mail today.  Can't wait to try them out!

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On 11/27/2020 at 7:28 PM, GeeBee said:

In thinking about this and "covers" for the vents, it occurs that the "cure" may be worse than the disease. If you forget your vent covers, it could have fatal consequences. Sure you can put red streamers on them, but I've seen a lot of planes return after take off with. the red streamers hanging from the wheel wells (gear pins.....dough!) I think it is safer to preflight them for obstructions, than to cover them. Sure we cover pitot tubes but you can fly without airspeed indications, and if you forget your intake covers, you'll know it before run up, but fuel vents................

Interesting thread. I agree with sentiments above but am still a little unclear on how best to preflight these things for obstructions effectively - btw I have the O&N bladder vents that look like this.  Blowing into them with tubing could dislodge sediment into the tanks?   

Image 1 - Mooney O&N Ice Masts For A Mooney With Bladder Tanks M20J And Others

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Note for Dev…

Blowing into the vent tube could stuff junk into the tank…

Most bugs are forced to keep their nest close to the end of the vent…

The O2 is limited as the bugs enter the tube…

So… a good visual inspection is pretty helpful…

The mud nests leave a lot of visual clues in the area…

Statistically, I’m at N=1 for number of mud nests I found in my tank vents…

One was enough… :)

Best regards,

-a-

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