Fuel leak / longeze

[Kingpilot]

I am building a longeze and I have a small fuel leak on the left side of the fuselage. It is above the gear, about 4" below the strake. Any ideas on how to repair? She is going over on her back this weekend to make it easier to work on. I also have a Lycoming 0360, has anybody put an 0360 in a longeze? Can it be done? Should I just go with the 0320? Thank you for your input. Kevin

[Waiter]

Sounds like its coming from the sump blister.

 

If possible, sand the blister down to glass, sand an area about 2 inches all the way around the fuselage where it meets the blister. Lay up two layers of wet BID on the blister and the fuselage.

 

Waiter

[steve]

I am building a longeze and I have a small fuel leak on the left side of the fuselage. It is above the gear, about 4" below the strake. Any ideas on how to repair? She is going over on her back this weekend to make it easier to work on. I also have a Lycoming 0360, has anybody put an 0360 in a longeze? Can it be done? Should I just go with the 0320? Thank you for your input. Kevin

flipped is good, no fuel, open gas lid, insert vacuum line and make-shift seal, leave vents open. draw vacuum, ready up some epoxy in a syringe and apply to the hole you see fuel coming out of.

[longez360]

Sounds like a sump leak. No need to flip your aircraft. I'd drain the fuel, rub back the entry point, observe weep, repair with resin and a tight glass weave. Always peel ply a tank repair.

 

I fly a 9.2:1 parallel valve IO-360 powered Long EZ. I'd choose a parallel valve 360 over a 320 in a heartbeat. Excess power is safety in my opinion. My aeroplane is significatnly faster than Jackpot winning 10:1 320 LEZ's now with a top end of 215 knots on a standard day @ sea level. Early 360 Long EZ's did not have good prop matches nor were they necessarily refined airframes. As for fuel burn, I flight plan 180 knots at 10gph. An O-360A1A is 265lbs dry, and a O-320D3G is 255lbs dry...