November 11, 2015 – I made the two fuel vent tubes.
The fuel tanks are vented using air from fittings installed in the belly, routed up through the fuselage and out to each tank in the wings.
There are several somewhat complex bends. The tubing is soft and easy to bend, but it can be overbent, which will damage it. I had read that it helps to use stiff wire to lay out the bends. I used a coat hanger. Not sure how much it really helped, but OK.
I installed the fittings in the sides of the fuselage where the tube connects and goes out to the wings.
I just slowly bent the tubing to fit.
The worst part was down at the side fittings, because there are two or three sharper bends. I switched out the fittings for a better fit. The original configuration is for a 90 degree fitting. I put in 45 degree fittings and got a better fit.
I also found it easier to install the clamps as I went. This held the tubing in place so I could fine-tune some of the bends by hand.
The tubes don’t look like they came out of Boeing, but I’m pretty happy with them.
Time: 5:00
