REFLECTOR:Old Standard Velocity Fuel Strakes.

[Richard J. Gentil]

Joe, Al, and Pat,

Thanx again for your interest and insight. Here is the reply I had from Brendan.
(Duane gave me the same response.)

"Richard,
It is fixable. What is your background with working with fiberglass? It
isn't a difficult fix but I wouldn't want to take a fuel tank fix like this
on as my first project without having someone who has previous experience
near by. A Cozy ,Long-EZ or Velocity builder would do. Take the piece of
strake that was cut off. Cut the bottom part of the strake piece off along
the leading edge. Glass the bottom section of the strake piece in place
using a 2 bid layup on the outside and on the inside. Reinstall the baffle
that was cut and glass in place. Recoat all the joints with EZ-poxy to seal
like the original tank was sealed. Make a 2 to 3 bid flange all the way
around the opening. This is so you have something for the top to seal to.
Make a flange also down the leading edge where the top and bottom meet. Bond
the top piece in place as the strake was originally bonded in with EZ-poxy
and flox or milled fiber. Glass the outside with 2 bid as well. That's it.
Again if you don't have previous glass experience and what I have written
above sounds like Greek to you than you need to get some experienced help to
tackle this repair.

Brendan O'Riordan"

I was wondering what the benefits of the old vs the new Strakes, since depending on
what they were, would greatly influence whether I repair now and see what happens or
just skip it and remove both Strakes and start over with the new Strake design.

I will post the High Rez Pix to my website shortly and I will send out the link.

Thanx again,

Richard

Joe wrote:

> Welcome Richard,
> I am just about to finish my first strake.  It will be a tick over 3 weeks
> when I am finished.  That was starting with new parts and not having to
> remove the old structure.  Unless the structural or fuel containment
> integrity is in question, I would think long and hard before deciding to
> replace the strakes.  Cost may also be a consideration, I had to buy 2 new
> strake halves, 1 due to delamination and 1 for physical damage from the
> previous owner - they cost $180 each.   Below is a cost estimate of building
> new strakes, add shipping and/or sales tax and it will end up being between
> $1500 and $2000. ( and a lot of hours)
>     $ 720 - Strakes 4 x 180
>     $ ??? - Wheel Wells 2 x ???
>     $  55 - Foam
>     $  80 - BID
>     $  80 - Structural Epoxy
>     $ 200 - Jeffco Epoxy
>     $ 200 - Fuel caps, tubing, supplies, contingencies.
>
> Joe
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard J Gentil" <richard@naples-air-center.com>
> To: <reflector@tvbf.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 6:27 PM
> Subject: REFLECTOR:Old Standard Velocity Fuel Strakes.
>
> > Hey Gang,
> >
> > I am new to the Reflector. I recently purchased Travis Young's Project.
> > He had a Standard Velocity RG that he converted to the Elite Doors. So
> > what I have is the old style Fuel Strakes with the Elite Doors. (I do
> > like that there is extra room for the door arm rest.)
> >
> > One thing Travis did was he cut badly into the left Fuel Strake with a
> > hacksaw, in order to get the fuselage to fit into a self storage unit.
> > (I do have pictures, but I did not know what the policy was for
> > including attachments in Reflector Emails.) I have to decide whether to
> > repair the damage or just put on a new Strake.
> >
> > My question is, does the old style Strakes vs the new style Strakes make
> > any difference in fuel capacity and cruise speed? (Since if I was going
> > to start over on the one side, I could also do the other side so they
> > are the new style Strakes.)
> >
> > Thanx,
> >
> > Richard
> >
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