I finished and first flown my Europa XS at the end of 2005 and have flown it
regularly for a total of over 700 hours. I purchased a kit as a monowheel
and converted it during building process to conventional tailwheel setup
with the help of Bob Berube in Florida. Other than that everything was built
per factory specs including fuel tank mount. The aircraft was always
hangared.
About two months ago I came to my hangar only to dicover strong gasoline
smell and a blue stain on the floor. I took the easy route first replacing
fuel hoses and fittings even though I couldn't see any obvious wear and
tear. Then I had to face the unthinkable that the fuel tank itself
developed a leak somehow. The bottom of my plane has a inspection plate at
the bottom right after the gear and after looking I confirmed that the port
side of the tank had a leak at the bottom.
I cut out about 6 x 8 " plate from the bottom of the fuselage and exposed
the leak. It was a crack where the reinforcing fiberglass was glued to the
tank. I sealed it with the thick layer of tank sealer from Aircraft Spruce
and so far it has been holding. I flew the aircraft for about eight hours
since.
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