Damn. I’m really getting tired of these setbacks. Yesterday was a pretty good day for forward progress. I bought 18 gal of premium mogas and went through the fuel calibration procedure (putting the rear wheels on 2” chocks to emulate normal flight attitude, telling the Dynon each time I added 2 gal). There was a little bit of spilling, enough so that the odor of gas was to be expected.
Today, I went out to check for leaks and found much more than I was expecting. Based on the float gauge, maybe a gallon or two leaked out overnight. Looking up at the main fuel connection, I found that the fuel was coming from above that spot. Climbing up into the plane itself revealed a touch more information: there was about 1/2 cm of fuel wicking along the medial lower edge of the tank, thus implying that the leak may be on the rear medial seam. I didn’t do much trouble shooting beyond that, so further investigations will need to wait until next weekend.
I put the nose wheel on a 2” block to make room for the large 7.5 gal transfer cans and removed the valve from the gascolator and used the pump to drain the tank as well as possible. (Learning from yesterday, I paused near the end and put the rear wheels on blocks to get a bit more drainage from the tank.)
I’ll have to remove the tank (again!) and figure out where the leak is next weekend.
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