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DOH! Tank Z bracket

wirejock

wirejock

Well Known Member
For those who's follow...read this thread or better still do a search and study before making the Z brackets or any part for that matter. I wish the Checkaway threads were still around. It sounds like they were very useful.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=93916&highlight=brackets
I wish I had done my research. Now I get to make 7 more and buy a new baffle. :mad:
I know every hole was exactly in the center yet after they were bolted on, the baffle was about 1/16" off toward the top of the wing. The Left wing was perfect. On the Right, they were right on the money from inboard to outboard but off top to bottom. That tiny bit would make the tank slightly proud on the top of the wing and bind on the bottom. Luckily I discovered the problem before drilling the ribs to the baffle. Maybe I shouldn't be so picky but the tank has to fit perfect.
The next batch will not be drilled till I position the baffle.
Funny, when I called Vans to place the order he asked, "will that be all?" I just broke out laughing and said, "probably not". It seems mistakes are part of the process. :D
 
z brackets

Me too. I got to order a replacement set of Z brackets.

wirejock said:
For those who's follow...read this thread or better still do a search and study before making the Z brackets or any part for that matter. I wish the Checkaway threads were still around. It sounds like they were very useful.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=93916&highlight=brackets
I wish I had done my research. Now I get to make 7 more and buy a new baffle. :mad:
I know every hole was exactly in the center yet after they were bolted on, the baffle was about 1/16" off toward the top of the wing. The Left wing was perfect. On the Right, they were right on the money from inboard to outboard but off top to bottom. That tiny bit would make the tank slightly proud on the top of the wing and bind on the bottom. Luckily I discovered the problem before drilling the ribs to the baffle. Maybe I shouldn't be so picky but the tank has to fit perfect.
The next batch will not be drilled till I position the baffle.
Funny, when I called Vans to place the order he asked, "will that be all?" I just broke out laughing and said, "probably not". It seems mistakes are part of the process. :D
Click to expand...
 
Fitting tanks

Awesome! Thanks. Perfect timing. That's right where I am. Except for making 7 new Z brackets. That process is much better.
 
z brackets

i too had to order 7 new brackets then started looking for a better way here on the VAF, i basicaly followed the methed here except i didnot pull the leading edge but could go through the hole for the stall warning hole and put a celco side lock clamp on the baffle to end z-bracket then drill the z bracket baffle attach hole after pulling the tank skin on the right wing i put a hole in the wing like the stall warning hole (also there if i need to put a new tie down on)
 
When I was doing the Z bracket thing and looking for information, I uncovered all of the lore surrounding the 'Checkoway' method, but not much in the way of a cook book like, step by step, description. Sadly, the 'Checkoway' codex has been lost to the ages. Some say there may yet be a few tattered papyri not lost in the great fire of Alexandria. I don't know, in the end, I think I followed his method and I blogged about in here:

http://roughandreadyaerospace.blogspot.com/2012/10/step-58-fuel-tank-z-brackets.html
 
wjb said:
+1 on the Checkoway method ... I used the great writeup by Jason Beaver as a guide with great results.

http://www.jasonbeaver.com/rv7/2009/05/fit-tanks-to-spars.html
Click to expand...

And one more thumbs-up for the Checkoway method as described on Jason Beaver's excellent site. Worked perfectly for me. Many thanks to Jason.

One tid-bit I might add, one that took me a while to figure out but is probably old-hat to most others.. You can use 1/8 inch cleckos through the tank-skin-to-spar screw holes when cleckoing your tank inplace to drill the Z-brackets. I pondered and pondered about how to make sure the screw holes would line up with the nutplates in the spar, worrying that they might be off longitudinally one way or the other if I just butted the tank skin up to the leading edge skin and called that good. After much head scratching someone told me that #30 cleckos will grab in the #8 nutplates I'd already riveted to the spar. Duh!

Again, though, kudos to Jason for documenting the Checkoway method for us late-comers.
 
joe_rainbolt said:
When I was doing the Z bracket thing and looking for information, I uncovered all of the lore surrounding the 'Checkoway' method, but not much in the way of a cook book like, step by step, description. Sadly, the 'Checkoway' codex has been lost to the ages. Some say there may yet be a few tattered papyri not lost in the great fire of Alexandria. I don't know, in the end, I think I followed his method and I blogged about in here:

http://roughandreadyaerospace.blogspot.com/2012/10/step-58-fuel-tank-z-brackets.html
Click to expand...

Jason Beaver covers the step by step pretty well in his build log. You can find it through Vans builders links. IMHO you can't spend too much time in other builders' web logs.;)
 
Z bracket sick

No reply needed. I just need to vent. After buying a new set of brackets for the right wing, I still managed to mess one up. It's not horrible but need to be redone. The most inboard one. I managed to drill the holes just enough off toward the web of the bracket so a socket won't go over the bolt head. They probably could be used but sooner or later I or someone else would be cussing trying to get the bolts in or out. Two more brackets on the way by snail mail to give me time to cool off. One extra in case I find a way to foul up yet again. This is so much fun!:D
 
I've finally learned that in general, it's often not a bad idea to put holes closer to the edge of a flange than the web, assuming that proper edge distance is available.

Dave
P.S. So many holes - so many things to remember!
 
welcome back

Hey Dave. Welcome back.
The error was just a dumb mistake. I marked the one incorrectly by about 1/64". Just enough so a socket would bind between the head and the web of the bracket.
No worries. Next one or two will be perfect.
I'll work on the left for a few days till we leave then my Lucy will be alone for a month.
Builder's withdrawal is going to be tough.
 
Save those Z brackets

I found that the Z bracket is great to use for mounting brackets because of their shape. I mounted my transponder on the rear vertical fuselage support. Cut to size and use them for anything u want elevated and want to use nutplates for attachment.
 
great tip

pilotkms said:
I found that the Z bracket is great to use for mounting brackets because of their shape. I mounted my transponder on the rear vertical fuselage support. Cut to size and use them for anything u want elevated and want to use nutplates for attachment.
Click to expand...

Great tip. Thanks. I've got ideas already.
 
tank mounted

I wanted to say thanks to everyone.
I used the Dan method from Jason's log.
The fit is perfect.

New question though.
Should I use all new AN bolts when the tank is mounted since these have been in at least once?
 
If you used Boelube or similar on the threads they ought to be okay. Take a look with a magnifying glass and any thread damage will be obvious.

Dave
 
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