Replace air lines in Discus tail fin?

[Paul[_10_]]

I'd like to put a TE probe in an unused tail fin pitot socket, but the 30 year old hose leaks. There doesn't appear to be access from the top, with the horizontal stabilizer removed. Does anybody know if the lines can be accessed with the rudder removed?

Plan B is to mount it in the turtle deck, which is easy peasy, but has the slight downside of adding another hole to the ship.

[[email protected]]

On Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 3:11:47 PM UTC-4, Paul wrote:
> I'd like to put a TE probe in an unused tail fin pitot socket, but the 30 year old hose leaks. There doesn't appear to be access from the top, with the horizontal stabilizer removed. Does anybody know if the lines can be accessed with the rudder removed?
>
> Plan B is to mount it in the turtle deck, which is easy peasy, but has the slight downside of adding another hole to the ship.

Before you get too crazy in the fin check the part of the tubing that you can get to between the front and the area just behind the wing. More than one tube going through the belly has been found damaged.
UH

[Paul[_10_]]

Good point, thanks, but that's not the problem. The leak is between the tail fin socket and the air line behind the seat.

[John McLaughlin]

At 20:10 08 October 2019, Paul wrote:
>Good point, thanks, but that's not the problem. The leak is between the
>tail fin socket and the air line behind the seat.
>
>

Sorry to distract from your question, but what is a turtle deck?

[Steve Leonard[_2_]]

On Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 5:30:04 PM UTC-5, John McLaughlin wrote:

> Sorry to distract from your question, but what is a turtle deck?

Top of the fuselage, generally between wing leading and trailing edges.

Steve Leonard

[Tango Eight]

On Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 3:11:47 PM UTC-4, Paul wrote:
> I'd like to put a TE probe in an unused tail fin pitot socket, but the 30 year old hose leaks. There doesn't appear to be access from the top, with the horizontal stabilizer removed. Does anybody know if the lines can be accessed with the rudder removed?
>
> Plan B is to mount it in the turtle deck, which is easy peasy, but has the slight downside of adding another hole to the ship.

Probe will be unusable on the turtle deck. It'll be in the low pressure area over the wing and you'll see significant vario excursions due to varying load factor. The second best location for a TE probe (after the top of the vertical fin, where most go) is the middle of the tail boom... but the fin mount is better (further out of the wing wake).

best,
T8

[[email protected]]

To reconnect a Duo TE tube that was delivered new disconnected from the fin socket we had to get a hole cut in the fin.

[[email protected]]

You might be able to further localize the leak with refrigerant sniffer.

Given that you know that the leak is inside the top of the fin and not elsewhere like the socket o-rings, what does the factory say about access?

Perhaps they have a written procedure for where to put a hole.