All of the interior ribs on both fuel tanks have been riveted and sealed.  I had planned to get a lot more time in the shop on this 3 day weekend, but a major snow fall, a ski trip, and running out of propane in the garage prevented that.  I did get a solid, but freezing, 8 hours in the shop.  I should be able to finish the tanks this weekend.  I need to install the end ribs, vent line, access plates, and capacitive fuel sensor.  All of that has been prepped so it should go together relatively quickly.  I can’t wait to do the tanks.  All in all, they haven’t been very difficult, but they are very time consuming and slow.  Working with the sealant is messy and I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed it.

Mike Bullock was kind enough to give me all the fittings to plug up the tank for leak testing.  Hopefully I can soon move onto riveting the rest of the wing!

No pictures this weekend.  I will post some next time.

Interior ribs was the name of the game for Sunday.  I completed all of them for the left tank.  I have the process down very well now.  50 grams of sealant and two ribs at a time works out perfectly for the work timing.  I think if I really am on my A game, I can do three ribs at once which means I could do all of the interior ribs on the right tank in two batches of sealant.

Not much else to mention.  Everything went as planned.  I will have some notes and tips for sealing, but we’ll wait to see that it doesn’t leak first!

The tanks are slow going and this post includes work from last weekend that I had forgotten to include.

Last weekend I knocked out the fuel cap flanges and drain assembly. Normally, this would have been a relatively quick procedure, but I made a boneheaded mistake. I riveted the flanges but forgot the vent line clip. I drilled out the rivet and fixed the error, but then again every step you take is slowed by the application of sealant.

Today I riveted and sealed two interior ribs on the left tank. It’s been many months since I riveted with the mushroom swivel set and a bucking bar. Adding sealant to the equation only made me more nervous. My fears were not justified, and the riveting was a breeze. After two ribs, I have my technique and timing fairly well nailed.  About 50 grams of sealant is perfect for two ribs.

Here is the completed fuel cap assembly. 

Interior of the fuel drain.

Blurry picture of the exterior of the fuel drain.

Interior of the fuel flange. 

Rib sealing…

Progress so far.