REFLECTOR: Jeffco or not?

[Lawrence J. Epstein, MD]

Despite the statements that you can do 1 @ a time, I would strongly
recommend putting both wings on (I did it in my driveway) and doing both
strake bottoms together. Then, take the wings off and wheel the fuselage
back in the garage. Finish the baffles, etc and then put both wings back
on and do the tops.

 

I think it is easier that way to make sure that you set the incidence
correctly (IMHO).

 

I would use the Jeffco. It makes a good seal and protects your tanks
against future fuel changes.

 

Larry Epstein

173 FGE

 

-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of Grigore Rosu
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 1:34 AM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: REFLECTOR: Jeffco or not?

 

I'm about to install the bulkheads in my first strake and therefore I'll
soon need to worry about the fuel tank.

 

1) Should I use Jeffco or not?  The manual sounds as if Jeffco is
optional ...  If I should use it, where can I get it from?  (I can do a
random search on the internet, but perhaps there are some better avenues
that you may have encountered so far).

 

2) Do I need an altimeter to test the fuel tank?  I have none, but the
messages I could find in the reflector archive on this subject mention
an altimeter.  BTW, can I test each tank in isolation, or they need to
be both installed first and checked together?

 

3) Should I finish the first strake (including installing the upper
strake) and then move to the other one, or it is better to also install
the lower strake on the other side and its bulkheads, then do both tanks
at the same time, and then install both upper strakes at the same time?
Note that I can only install one wing at a time in my garage.  The
flow-chart that came with my manual says that the wing can be removed
once the lower strake is installed ... I'm a bit reluctant to do so
though, because I'm affraid the torsion generated by the spar may be too
big without the upper strake.

 

Thank you,

Grigore

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/private/reflector/attachments/20080128/1b00f954/attachment.htm