Header Tanks - Fuel Drains

Since the SuperSTOL comes from the factory with only one header tank and I am going with two, I decided to tackle a small project. There is a small piece of steel welded to the passenger's side of the fuselage for a fuel drain.

I needed to fabricate a similar piece on the pilot's side for my second header tank, and Hysol it into place.

So, I found a scrap piece of .040 aluminum and measured it, cut it, and bent it. I test fit it several times, trimming it to get the angles correct. Once satisfied with the shape and fit, I deburred all the edges, sanded the fuselage where it would attach, and then cleaned all the surfaces.

I mixed up a couple of dabs of Hysol. I placed a metal ruler underneath the fuselage stringers and clamped them in place. this allowed me to set the piece into place on top of the ruler, knowing it would be absolutely flush with the bottom of the fuselage. I dabbed some Hysol into place on each end to tack the piece into place. I allowed the Hysol to set up and then removed the ruler. I mixed more Hysol and filled in the seams ensuring a very good bond. I again let the Hysol set up to working consistency and then smoothed out the fillets using rubbing alcohol. Once cleaned up, I left it to totally cure.

I drilled out the passenger's side and test fit the drain and coupler.