Only specialized words can be used to describe construction progress on this Memorial Day Weekend.  Fargin-Nuget!!!!!  I didn't get diddly squat done on the plane this weekend.  Last week I was planning on having a "tank marathon" this weekend.  THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!

Instead, I got caught up working on things around the house.  My "To-Do's" have been growing and I only got a couple of them done this weekend.  I could spend the rest of the summer on them and probably not get done.

This weekend's accomplishments included:

• Overhauling the gas grill.  Believe it or not, this took over 4 hours to clean and replace everything.  If you think tank sealant is messy....  It is nothing when compared to the muck I found in the grill that I haven't cleaned for probably 4 years.  YUK!!!!
• Mounted a wall mount for the TV.  Now I have room for my satellite receiver and a DVD player in the garage.  200 satellite channels and I still have a hard time finding something decent to watch.
• The BIG item for the weekend was wiring and mounting my new 24,000 BTU, ductless, split-type heat pump for the garage.  LINK TO:  Garage Heat Pump
• Minor work on the right wing tank.

Tami and I dimpled the tank skin.  The thing to be careful with here is not to dimple the fuel sampling rivet holes as the fuel sampling flange is countersunk by Van's.  The other holes you don't want to dimple on the skin is the rivet holes for that will attach the tank baffle.  The tank skin is to be countersunk  (have not done that yet).   After Tami and I got done with the skins, I dimpled the tank ribs.  Just another exercise in using the C-frame dimpler and the pneumatic squeezer.  Sorry, no pictures.

I am still fabricating components for this friggin' fuel tank.  I started working on the fuel trap door that blocks off a large hole in the same compartment as the flop tube.  The idea here is that the trap door flops down to block the hole and prevent a mass exodus of fuel adjacent to the flop tube during aerobatic maneuvers.  Okay, if you say so Vans.  I don't think that it would be a good idea to starve engine during aerobatic maneuvers.  The plane would only take you to the scene of the crash.  That could make for a really bad day. :(

I used some AN257-P3 piano hinge and cut it to 2.5" long.  It later gets cut to 1.75" so that you can bend up the tab to act as a stop.  I used some scrap 0.025" aluminum to fabricate the trap door.

Additionally, I cut a curved notch along the aft side of the trap door so that it did not block the notch in the lower portion of the rib.  Van's states that this notch in the rib is to allow water to migrate and pool at the bottom of the tank near the drain valve.  I wanted to make sure the trap door didn't hinder that water migration.

I riveted the trap door to the hinge with AN426AD3-3.5 rivets.  For the top side of the hinge to rib web, I used AN470AD4-4 rivets.  I didn't want to mess with countersinking the hinge, so I just used universal rivets.  Van's instructions on the print do not specify the rivets to use.  Those rivets ought to hold that friggin' trap door on....

Finally, I bent the hinge pin 90 degrees on the aft side of the trap door.  When the fuel tank is fully assembled, the tank baffle plate will be riveted to the aft rib flange and prevent the hinge pin from coming out.  If that hinge pin comes out, I am going to have serious other problems to deal with...

One long weekend, one piddly little trap door fabricated.  I gotta pick up the pace here.  Two other builders whose progress I follow regularly (David R. and Dave P.) smoked me this weekend on progress.  Good job guys.  I will get out of my slump soon.  I must have this subconscious phobia with working on the tank....