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ebonsell(at)earthlink.net
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 Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:55 am Post subject: Firestar Fuel Tank |
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Friends,
This is my first post to the list in a long time. I have an original Firestar. Built it in 1986 & 87. Flew it until 2000 when it suffered an unfortunate event. I started to rebuild it but job, family, mistakes, ect. got in the way and I had to shelve it. I now have more time so I got it out and dusted it off. I hope to have it back in the air in 2007. I'll post some stories and photo's of some of our great trips we had around here, (SE PA).
I'm also interested in a Firestar fuel tank conversion. I replaced the original 5 gallon tank with an 8 gallon tank the from the auto racing industry. It's heavy, barely fits, and I was never really happy with it. I hope to replace it with something better. I'm also looking for MK II in good condition. Does anyone know of one for sale?
I'm sorry to hear about Dave. We have lost several pilots around here. Two due to engine failure on take off leading to a stall/spin. One of which tried to turn around and go back to the field.
A third due to unsafe flying techniques.
Please be careful out there.
Sincerely,
Ed Bonsell
[quote][b]
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David.Lehman
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 265
Location: "Lovely" Fresno CA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:03 am Post subject: Firestar Fuel Tank |
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Welcome back Ed...
I'm going to try a Titan 10 gal. tank this weekend... My Firestar is like yours, '80s, so I'll let the group know if it works...
DVD
do not archive
On 11/14/06, Edward Bonsell <ebonsell(at)earthlink.net (ebonsell(at)earthlink.net)> wrote: [quote] Friends,
This is my first post to the list in a long time. I have an original Firestar. Built it in 1986 & 87. Flew it until 2000 when it suffered an unfortunate event. I started to rebuild it but job, family, mistakes, ect. got in the way and I had to shelve it. I now have more time so I got it out and dusted it off. I hope to have it back in the air in 2007. I'll post some stories and photo's of some of our great trips we had around here, (SE PA).
I'm also interested in a Firestar fuel tank conversion. I replaced the original 5 gallon tank with an 8 gallon tank the from the auto racing industry. It's heavy, barely fits, and I was never really happy with it. I hope to replace it with something better. I'm also looking for MK II in good condition. Does anyone know of one for sale?
I'm sorry to hear about Dave. We have lost several pilots around here. Two due to engine failure on take off leading to a stall/spin. One of which tried to turn around and go back to the field.
A third due to unsafe flying techniques.
Please be careful out there.
Sincerely,
Ed Bonsell
[b]
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_________________
ô¿ô
"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute."
--- George Bernard Shaw |
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davistcs(at)eoni.com
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:38 pm Post subject: Firestar Fuel Tank |
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With the posts lately about increased fuel and aluminum tanks I thought I'd add my two cents worth.
A priority from the start of building my Firestar was to provide for more and reliable fuel. I'm not much of a fan of plastic jugs either, although their simplicity is a big advantage, I have to admit. Safety in a crash and keeping fuel weight forward as far as possible were other considerations. I ended up making the "bulkhead" at the end of the fuse tube removable and mocking up a cardboard tank that held a little over 14 gallons that sat on the tube and fit the taper inside the cage.
The tank is cross baffled with a quick drain at the back of the sump to drain water when parked and the finger strainer at the front which is lowest when flying. If I was doing it again (and I might) I would shape the tank sump somewhat differently and make the fuel inlet at the back to get the last drops while climbing. I just never thought about it until the tank was finished. A drawback of working alone I guess. As it is, with a gallon in the tank it would take a fairly steep climb to unport the inlet.
A word about welded tanks and sloshing. I was pretty proud of my tig welding and thought I didn't need no "steenking" sloshing. Wrong! Long (ugly) story short, when I put fuel (mix) in the tank to start the engine break-in I started noticing "oily" spots on the tank. The gas was seeping out, evaporating, and leaving the oil in about 3 places. We all know that a drop of oil spreads out and looks like a gallon, well there were a lot of drops. So I swallowed my pride, rinsed the tank, etched it with Alumi-prep and sloshed it 3 times. No seeps now. I think if you could get a certified welder from Boeing or space shuttle work to weld the tank up it would probably be great, but for this normal mortal, I'll use the slosh.
If Kolb made a high capacity plastic molded tank to fit our planes, something with the fuel inlet out the bottom, I sure wouldn't have bothered to make one but since they don't I'm pretty happy with this one. Nothing like a little extra gas, unless the plane is on fire. 
Terry Davis
N66TD
Firestar 1, 503 DCDI, BRS, Powerfin 3 bl.
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David.Lehman
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 265
Location: "Lovely" Fresno CA
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject: Firestar Fuel Tank |
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Thanx Terry...
DVD
do not archive
On 11/17/06, Terry Davis <davistcs(at)eoni.com (davistcs(at)eoni.com)> wrote: [quote] With the posts lately about increased fuel and aluminum tanks I thought I'd add my two cents worth.
[b]
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_________________
ô¿ô
"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute."
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Thom Riddle
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1597
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA (9G0)
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:07 am Post subject: Firestar Fuel Tank |
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Alternative aluminum fuel tank leak fix (aluminium, for Pat).
When I was driving a Titan, built by someone else, the home-built
aluminum fuel tank sprung a couple leaks at the welded seams. I used
Pro-Seal to fix the leaks and it worked great. It is my understanding
that this is the stuff that many airlines use to patch their aluminum
fuel tank leaks. It is available from Aircraft Spruce, maybe others
too. Not cheap and messy to work with but it does work very well.
Thom in Buffalo
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_________________
Thom Riddle
Buffalo, NY (9G0)
Don't worry about old age... it doesn't last very long.
- Anonymous |
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pj.ladd(at)btinternet.com
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:37 am Post subject: Firestar Fuel Tank |
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Alternative aluminum fuel tank leak fix (aluminium, for Pat).>>
Hi Thom,
thank you for you consideraton.
Cheers
Pat
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