This story may have been in the CSA newsletter. The way I remember it, a builder had just sawed the fuel cap holes in the top strake surface and was getting ready to vacuum out the debris that had fallen into the tank. However, when he turned on the vacuum and stuck it in the hole, he did not hear the expected rattle of debris being sucked into the hose. He looked into the tank and it was clean.
He was suspicious and went the extra Sherlock Holmes mile. To his surprise he discovered the debris had spread out around the corners of the tank. Again, the way I remember it, after experimenting a few times, he demonstrated that the problem was created by turning the vacuum on before it is inserted into the tank. As the hose is inserted into the hole and air is beginning to be sucked out, air must also be sucked in. The air being sucked in, in accordance with Murphy’s Law, will enter and flow so as to blow the pile of debris to the far corners of the interior perimeter.
I believe that the cure was to insert the hose and position it just over the pile of debris before turning on the vacuum. There may be other preventative processes. Thanks to the person that brought this up.
When I read or heard this story I remembered having heard several builders over the years say that they had been extremely meticulous when building but still ended up finding a slug of fiberglass particles in the carb filter screen. I believe some of these folks said they had found the debris in the carb filter during taxi tests when the engine was wasn’t running right. I guess we can be meticulous about the way we are meticulous.
My son just told me that they do a happy halloween with their kids, rather than the scary stuff. I do too. All it takes is looking at a couple of sites that say that chocolate is good for you
Safe flying-
