Hi Bob,
Thank you for your response.
It looks like your tank and cap are slightly better than mine.
I made a first flight today with the long range tank installed and
filled with about 15 liters. The fuel smell in flight was so strong that
I had to return for a landing after a few minutes. No fuel leaks were
found, only fuel vapor leaking through the badly sealed cap. In the
meantime I have received an answer from Roger at the factory. He said he
has found a better cap and has shipped it to me. Wait and see.
Now is the long range tank superfluous? I am not planning to fly five
hour trips on a regular basis but it is nice to be able to fly 2,5 hours
to a remote strip with no fuel facility and back home without an
additional stop. You can also make some savings avoiding to purchase
high priced avgas most of the time!
Regards
Remi
>>>>Remi,
My long range tank has been returned. I took some pics to post on my
build website, but it appears that EuropaOwners.org is down again. So
I will pass along some numbers for you and will post the pics when the
site is again functional.
Outside diameter of tank opening threads is 2.55 in. or 64.77 mm.
Inside diameter of the cap threads is 2.5 in. or 63.5 mm.
This provides 0.05 in. or 1.27 mm of thread engagement.
The threads on the tank opening are not perfect and it can be
difficult to put the cap on without cross-threading. But once the
threads have been properly engaged, the cap screws on fairly easily.
Still, it is not a perfect fit. I would not trust the cap to not leak
should the tank end up on its' side or, worse yet, upside down.
My plans no longer call for the use of the long range tank anyway. My
wife has declared that there will NOT be any flight leg longer than
THREE HOURS no matter how long the Europa can fly on available fuel.
So the long range tank is now superfluous for my needs.
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