Thorp Air Command - T18.net

So after trailering my new purchase home the work is begining. The main issue I have is with the fuel tank. It was originally built with a fiberglass tank that only has a volume of 22 gallons. Too small for the O-360. The fiberglass is also starting to delaminate so that makes this decision easy.. it's coming out. I want to put in a 29 gallon tank that the drawings call for. I have drawings on order fron Eklund but they are still a week or so from arriving. The first big hurdle is figuring out how to remove the tank. I can see the brackets behind the instrument panel. Does the panel have to come out or do you get it out from the top... or both? If it has to slide out from under the panel, I would also need to remove the center control stack also... throttle, mixture, fuel selector, it seems. From the top it looks like I would have to drill out quite a few rivets and split the forward fuselage. Just wondering the best course of action going forward.

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Tim Newman
N-587
Moline, IL
KMLI

Check and see if the floorboard is removable, most likely it is not. I see two options (note: neither of them involve drilling out the cowl skin!! .. don't do that!)

1.) Remove the panel and center console controls and pull the tank out aft.
2.) Drill out the floorboard and pedal rails and go out from below. When you replace the floorboard put a nutplate at every rivet location and make it removable (you'll be glad you did the next time you have to get behind the panel or remove the tank again).

Note: if you do not have one already put an access panel in for your sending unit, or you'll be doing the same operation again someday!

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Thank you Lee. The floorboard skin is definitly all rivets. This way seems the easieast I just did not think it would come ouit that way. If I go this route only do you think I would still need to remove instrument panel and control stack?

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Tim Newman
N-587
Moline, IL
KMLI

You may have to drop the engine controls but you will be able to drop the tank out from below.

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Great! Thank you... that sounds like the easiest solution yet. Now working on getting a tank built.

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Tim Newman
N-587
Moline, IL
KMLI