As in all things me, I decided to add a fuel flow transducer to the new Glastar equipage and that took a little time to work out. Thankfully, with a nod to good friends, the little red cube arrived and a plan was hatched with the help of Tom Swearengen at TS Flightlines who soon had my custom measured fuel hose on the way.
Room for new gadgetry is somewhat limited under the cowling but we were able to find just the right spot for the new fuel flow transducer and related hoses, hardware, etc...
Mark made a bracket to place the cube where it's supposed to go and Steve did the electronic magic to make it work. AFS has been great to work with and tech services is responsive.
One trick that had to be done early was calibration of the fuel quantity.
The tanks are calibrated one at a time, but the Glastar's fuel system is such that we had to add fuel into the left and right tanks at the same time to prevent crossflow between the tanks so we could get even quantities, or close to it.
The next thing: My airplane is built with the simplified fuel system that is comprised of a 15-gallon tank in each wing and an on/off selector. Tank vents are nylon (or similar) tubing run out near the wingtips and sent vertically through the lower skin of the wings. They are then trimmed at an angle with the cut facing forward to provide positive air pressure in the tanks. Trouble is, no two cuts are precisely the same and the tanks will feed unequally. When the weight of the fuel in the tank with more fuel is enough to overcome the air pressure in the tank with less fuel, the fuller tank will feed. Not to my liking. I shopped for a 4-position fuel valve but lead times for the one I want are several months, and they come from England. Still looking.
The good news is the airplane is flying and I'm now running the EAA test cards (modified to reflect an upgraded airplane) with Mark and other safety pilots. Hopefully we'll have some good numbers very soon and I will be off to many new adventures (mostly for food).
