As promised in my previous post, here is some info on the fuel tank repair I had to do on the Waco's left fuel tank. The repair required that the tank be removed from the center section, so the first step in the process was to remove the metal covers and gain access to the tanks. Here's what the tanks look like installed in the center section.
You'll note that there are two tanks side by side instead of one large tank. Total capacity is 50 gallons, split evenly between the two 25 gallon tanks. The fuel valve in the airplane allows the pilot to use the tanks individually or together (left, right, or both).
Removing the tanks turned out to be a fairly simple and straightforward job, made difficult only by the fact that all the work needs to be done while balanced on a ladder or standing on the front of the fuselage. I was able to get the tanks out by myself, but putting them back in was easier with an extra set of hands.
I removed both tanks, so as to check both for possible leaks. The leak in the left tank was located quite quickly, and the right tank was found to be without problems. Here's what the tank bay looks like with the tanks removed.
A quick weld job and the left tank was ready to go back in. No problems were encountered while reinstalling the tank, so in short order the plane was once again ready to go.
Each tank has it's own fuel sight gauge, which I had to remove and reinstall during the process of working on the tanks. Here's what the fuel gauge looks like when removed from the tank.
So now with this little project is complete I hope we won't have anymore wrenching and will be able to do a lot more flying. The weather will have a lot to say about that, but at least the airplane is ready to go.
Happy flying!
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