Center Tank Blues
I learned this week that the faster the airplane, the harder it is to work on....generally. The example was a Piper Aerostar brought into the hangar to check for fuel and oil leaks. Steve had the plane up on jacks and Matt was getting ready to go into the wheelwells to disconnect the regulator which was directly connected to the fuselage center tank. Since I had the longest arms, I reached in to pull the center tank drain line and unbolt the regulator from the tank. Sounds simple, but it took us 3 hours. Steve was busy in the baggage compartment unscrewing the bladder, which of course had stuck screws. For those who don't know, most aircraft baggage compartments are a claustrophobe's biggest nightmare. For the rest of us, they're just really difficult to maneuver in.
In any case, we got the bladder out and they packed it up to be sent off for testing. That will ensure that there are no leaks in it. In the meantime I crawled into the baggage compartment and taped over the rivet heads in the hopper to ensure that there will be nothing to snag the bladder when it gets back. Slapping tape on rivets shouldn't take long right? Try about 2 1/2 hours. Banging my head on the ELT probably added 15 minutes to that total.
After that got buttoned away, the cowlings went back on, the gear doors got reconnected (retract halfway first, connect, then extend fully) and it was brought off the jacks. Steve is going to check the engines for oil leaks once the repaired bladder gets reinstalled. To be honest, despite the cramped quarters, the actual act of removing the bladder was easier than when I helped with a Cessna 206 last year. The Aerostar doesn't have snaps inside the hopper to attach the bladder to while the Cessna does. So replacing the 206's means reaching inside the fuel filler hole and somehow turning your arm into triple jointed affair and snapping the bladder into place.
So this week saw another 7 hours go down in the book. It'll come in handy when I eventually get an A&P way down the line. Next week we'll probably run the engines and check for oil leaks and of course, fix them. I'll update you when it happens....we'll see ya.
In any case, we got the bladder out and they packed it up to be sent off for testing. That will ensure that there are no leaks in it. In the meantime I crawled into the baggage compartment and taped over the rivet heads in the hopper to ensure that there will be nothing to snag the bladder when it gets back. Slapping tape on rivets shouldn't take long right? Try about 2 1/2 hours. Banging my head on the ELT probably added 15 minutes to that total.
After that got buttoned away, the cowlings went back on, the gear doors got reconnected (retract halfway first, connect, then extend fully) and it was brought off the jacks. Steve is going to check the engines for oil leaks once the repaired bladder gets reinstalled. To be honest, despite the cramped quarters, the actual act of removing the bladder was easier than when I helped with a Cessna 206 last year. The Aerostar doesn't have snaps inside the hopper to attach the bladder to while the Cessna does. So replacing the 206's means reaching inside the fuel filler hole and somehow turning your arm into triple jointed affair and snapping the bladder into place.
So this week saw another 7 hours go down in the book. It'll come in handy when I eventually get an A&P way down the line. Next week we'll probably run the engines and check for oil leaks and of course, fix them. I'll update you when it happens....we'll see ya.
Comments