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Upgrades


Ed Cesnalis

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I have been poor and not flying too much but things are improving so I upgraded two things aviation.

:way_to_happy-1068:

 

1:  New fuel transfer tank (and pump not shown).  I am stealing the retractable bonding cable from my trailer fuel station and giving it to my friend with a 914 powered Europa.

 

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The trailer served me well but the tank will be much more convenient.  

 

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2:  I got a goose neck mount to attach to the right seat's left rail and hold my tablet running Garmin Pilot.
 
A couple of little upgrades that mean a lot to me.

 

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Hamburger, is that a fuel trailer you made or purchased?  Looks awesome!

 

I made it.  It's all aluminum and is easily towed behind a passenger car.   It holds 60 gallons and has a 12 foot hose and venting gas nozzle with filter.  It is also street legal with a license plate and working tail lights.  Has a deep charge RV battery that has fueled the plane for two years without a charge.  It's low enough to be stored under the wing of the CT.   It is included in the sale of the plane....so far no takers.

 

I reposted so CT could see how it's setup for grounding...once upon a time we had a thread on grounding and I guessed that putting a grounding reel on the trailer would be enough....it has been.

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I haven't been paying attention to the new avionics but now it's time for me to get current.  I'm thinking I'll commit to Garmin.  First step will be to upgrade my transponder to a GTX 345.  My EFIS and AP continue to serve me well but when the time comes I will replace with a Garmin G3X.  Once I give up XM my 496 will be just another backup but its easy to use and remains the first gps I reach for.

 

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I am pondering going with Dynon. That would mean I will get rid of my GTX 330. I would drop my XM subscription and stop updating my 696. I am also pondering the Seattle Avionics subscription to have access to sectionals and other info.

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Got the pump installed yesterday but the tank won't hold gas.  The tank has and bed has a hole drilled in the bottom and no-one admitted it.  This morning I realized the body shop that installed the tank drilled different size holes so I asked what size hole is it and did you drill 1 or 2 holes?  The station owner, working late doing me a favor on a holiday weekend then admitted he did it and will get the tank welded.  Said he can fill the tank with water to make it safe.
 
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Got the pump installed yesterday but the tank won't hold gas.  The tank has and bed has a hole drilled in the bottom and no-one admitted it.  This morning I realized the body shop that installed the tank drilled different size holes so I asked what size hole is it and did you drill 1 or 2 holes?  The station owner, working late doing me a favor on a holiday weekend then admitted he did it and will get the tank welded.  Said he can fill the tank with water to make it safe.
 
 
 

 

 

 

Is your tank DOT approved?  Not sure if weld repairing a DOT approved gasoline tank is legal...Just a question.   My two DOT tanks are aluminum...is this tank aluminum? 

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It is aluminum.  DOT approvals come for both combustible and flammable liquids.  Gas is not just combustible but flammable too and if you are transporting more than 1,000lbs (165gal approx) you then need a placard in California. 

 

Many state and federal agencies regulate fuel systems, including the US Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), California Code of Regulations (CCR), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), to name a few. Due to DOT ambiguity, the absolute legality of gravity fed systems remains unclear.

 

Many around here use combustible approved tanks when capacity is less than 1,000lbs even if it is flammable.  10 years ago we talked it over with the CHP at their office reference their code books and we were told we could use open buckets if the quantity was small.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Its been a long time since I've flown a low wing.  This is the next best thing  :)   I couldn't find a good place to mount a retracting bounding cable so I just got a little pre-made coiled cable with clamps on both ends.

 

Ease of fueling means a lot.  Its also pretty convenient to clean the bugs off of my wings from my pickup bed.  

 

Next on my list:

  • Goose neck mount - Monday
  • Transponder upgrade
  • Matco upgrade
  • Monster treads (if they will fit in my mini wheel pants)

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I have been getting suprisingly good results with my new phone a galaxy 7.  It inspired me to purchase a mirrorless digital camera due to the remarkably small size and big format. 

 

10 years a go I bought a tiny Casio camera, perfect for the cockpit but 5 mega pixels today is a joke.

 

The sony, with 24 mega pixels and other advanced features is a lot bigger than the Casio but still far smaller than an SLR.  I think I'm going to like this.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Alpha-Mirrorless-Digital-Camera/dp/B00IZDLDGE?ie=UTF8&ascsubtag=c1ec2a0331d86e58ec3801abc2ac5b0f_S&ref_=dra_a_cs_hp_hn_xx_P1200_1000&tag=dradisplay-20

 

 

 

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