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Protecting baggage floor. Is it a good idea?

magiccarpet

magiccarpet

Well Known Member
Patron
Hi all
According to the plans, the bottom side of the fuel tank sits on the baggage floor F-1224-R.
I was wondering if the tank might scrub on the baggage floor with the time.
To prevent from wear, I was thinking to place some small (1/16") rubber parts in the corners between the floor and the fuel tank to achieve a minimal separation between those parts.
Maybe I am wrong with that idea and a small rubber spacer could even have some negative aspects of which I am not aware of.

It's just an idea.
What do you think about this?
Thank you !!
 
I could be wrong but believe that the fuel tank is suspended above the baggage floor by the 3 mounting screws.
 
Yeah, the tank is rigidly mounted and there's a little clearance between it and the floor. No need.
 
Not a good idea! As others have said, the tank does not sit on the baggage floor. Adding something to the support of the tank could make it difficult to align the tank to install the mounting screws and could introduce loads and wear on the tank that it is not designed for.
 
Fuel tank wear on bottom and front caused by rivets &...

My plane has approx. 370 hrs. and I'm currently doing my condition inspection and found wear pits on the bottom and front of the fuel tank:

1. There are two wear pits on the bottom of the fuel tank caused by contact with the two aft most rivet heads of the right most set of rivets on the baggage floor.
2. There is a wear line on the bottom of the tank caused by the front edge of the center rear baggage floor cover F-1206E (now F-00081 if an owner has the two piece version for leaving the fuel tank in place).
3. There are two wear pits on the front right portion of the fuel tank caused by two rivet heads from F-1204F-R that is attached to the center section.

My plans are to glue down strips of silicone rubber baffle material over all of the offending rivets and baggage cover edge. I may also try adding washer(s) between the center section ?C? channel and the front of the tank (F-1205 forward tank bracket) on one or both of the bolts (BOLT-00002) that secure the front of the tank to see if this will push the fuel tank away from the offending rivets in front of the fuel tank. Any ideas on how to better remedy this problem?

I suggest that all owners consider inspecting these areas of the fuel tank because although the pits are not deep, I'm sure that these will not take long to become deep. As much work as we all have put into these tanks, we don't want to lose the integrity of these and have to repair them. Also, no one wants to see anyone have a safety issue due to a suddenly leaking fuel tank. Note that not much wear can be detected on the rivet heads.
 
jrich said:
My plane has approx. 370 hrs. and I'm currently doing my condition inspection and found wear pits on the bottom and front of the fuel tank:

1. There are two wear pits on the bottom of the fuel tank caused by contact with the two aft most rivet heads of the right most set of rivets on the baggage floor.
2. There is a wear line on the bottom of the tank caused by the front edge of the center rear baggage floor cover F-1206E (now F-00081 if an owner has the two piece version for leaving the fuel tank in place).
3. There are two wear pits on the front right portion of the fuel tank caused by two rivet heads from F-1204F-R that is attached to the center section.

My plans are to glue down strips of silicone rubber baffle material over all of the offending rivets and baggage cover edge. I may also try adding washer(s) between the center section ?C? channel and the front of the tank (F-1205 forward tank bracket) on one or both of the bolts (BOLT-00002) that secure the front of the tank to see if this will push the fuel tank away from the offending rivets in front of the fuel tank. Any ideas on how to better remedy this problem?

I suggest that all owners consider inspecting these areas of the fuel tank because although the pits are not deep, I'm sure that these will not take long to become deep. As much work as we all have put into these tanks, we don't want to lose the integrity of these and have to repair them. Also, no one wants to see anyone have a safety issue due to a suddenly leaking fuel tank. Note that not much wear can be detected on the rivet heads.
Click to expand...

For anyone finding their way to this thread in the future, follow-up to this problem has been posted HERE.
 
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