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Alternate Tank Nutplate

WingsOnWheels

WingsOnWheels

Well Known Member
I bought my kit from another builder with a little bit of work done. The kit has been rolling around the country for the better part of 20 years. As a result, I have a few bits of non-vans hardware.

One bit of hardware I came upon are 25 self-sealing nutplates (NAS1473A3).

Has anyone used these on the tank? There are about $90 worth of nutplates here - it would be a waste not to use them. I would have to drill out the tank access panel to 10-32 rather than 8-32, but I made the cover and doubler a little oversize, so that is not an issue.

Can anyone give me a reason not to use these?

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I have used them

I put them on the tanks of my 8. It is not flying yet. A buddy had enough for me and swears by them. They weigh more than your standard nutplates, but they are placed on high dollar tanks by some manufacturers, so I thought what the heck. Dave
 
Use them

I got through the fues kit on a RV-4 bofore life forced a sale. 20 years experiance doing aircraft sheetmetak and I wondered why these were not part of the standard kit. This is how the pro's do it. Mind your screw grip length is the only gotcha. Proseal the back side (in the tank) fill the threads with some lube if you proseal the cover on. I prefer easy turn( fuel lube) on a cork gasket only.

AWM
 
Similar in construction to RV fuel tanks, when I did a repair on this Piper Cherokee fuel tank, the IA owner of the airplane insisted I use the NAS1473 type nutplate for attaching the access cover over the hole I cut into the side of the fuel tank, and I did. The hardware is nice and not strictly necessary but if the added cost is not an issue, the sealed nutplates are a solid choice of upgraded hardware.

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You'll find them all over Boeing aircraft. I did not use them on my tanks. I am not sure that the "O"-rings will stand up to avgas. Kerosene is a much more mild fuel. By themselves they can still leak. You have to seal over the top to be sure. I figured if my tanks are gonna leak, it'll be from one of the hundreds of rivets in the tank.

These nutplates, though used in fuel tanks, are more suited for pressurized cabin pass-throughs.

If I had a bag of them, I'd probably use them. Just be careful to use the correct screw length or you will poke through the back side. You may also want to use an "O" ring lube as a preservative/sealer.
 
apkp777 said:
You'll find them all over Boeing aircraft. I did not use them on my tanks. I am not sure that the "O"-rings will stand up to avgas. Kerosene is a much more mild fuel. By themselves they can still leak. You have to seal over the top to be sure. I figured if my tanks are gonna leak, it'll be from one of the hundreds of rivets in the tank.

These nutplates, though used in fuel tanks, are more suited for pressurized cabin pass-throughs.

If I had a bag of them, I'd probably use them. Just be careful to use the correct screw length or you will poke through the back side. You may also want to use an "O" ring lube as a preservative/sealer.
Click to expand...

NAS 1473s are the standard for use in certified aircraft. Standard practice is to coat them with Proseal after installation, so that you do not have to rely on the O-ring on the base. Thin your Proseal out so that you can brush it onto the nut plates.

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Charlie Kuss
 
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