My Ercoupe is flyin' again... (long)

My annual inspection on the Ercoupe was due in June. What I usually do is
take the plane to the inspector late in the month and then he usually
signs/dates it the next month so I get close to 13 months between annuals.
So, I took my plane from Fairmont (FRM) to Jackson (MJQ) on June 30th
expecting to get it inspected the first part of July and have it back for
the many fly-in breakfasts during July and August.

So much for that plan. When I last fueled up before taking it over for the
annual, I saw in the left wing tank that one of the baffle/ribs had fallen
down inside the tank and just laying on the bottom. I mentioned this to the
mechanic/inspector and he said it would need to be repaired or replaced
before he'd sign off the annual inspection. He called me a couple days later
and said my options were to get the tank repaired or find a replacement and
he had found refurbished replacements for around $1,600 or he could send my
tank in someplace to repair for around $500.

Plan A: I called up Wentworth Aircraft in Minneapolis and they said they had
an Ercoupe tank in stock for $495. I told them I'd stop by and pick it up
the next day; saving the shipping costs and time(?). I drove from Fairmont
to Minneapolis and got to Wentworth at lunchtime. The salesman I talked with
about the tank was out for lunch and no one else knew much about it. I
waited around for the salesman and got the tank and drove it back to
Jackson. This was on a Friday and by the time I got to the Jackson airport,
the mechanic wasn't there but I left the tank there. The mechanic called me
on following Monday morning saying the tank I got at Wentworth had sloshing
compound used on it and that he wouldn't put it on my plane. I guess I
should have checked the tank closer when I got it from Wentworth...

Plan B: During that week I had exchanged E-mails with Montblack about my
Ercoupe tank issue and he mentioned Roger Dufresne in Forest Lake that
repairs Ercoupe tanks. Great! I went over to Jackson and picked up the
Wentworth tank and assisted the mechanic with taking the original tank off.
I took both tanks up to Minneapolis to return the one to Wentworth and
repair the original one. I talked with Roger about repairing the tank and he
said he's repaired a few of them but wanted me to get some fuel tank
sealant. I found the sealant listed in Aircraft Spruce but needed it
quickly. I checked a few places here in Fairmont and also stopped at a fuel
tank (storage tanks) place in Mankato on the way to Minneapolis and no one
had the sealant. This was on a Friday and I was going to meet Roger on
Saturday to work on the tank. After dropping the Wentworth tank off and
getting a refund, I drove up to Anoka County airport and gave Montblack a
call. He said he could come over to the airport to meet me and offered me a
place to stay overnight. When Montblack arrived, he showed me around the
airport and I mentioned about the sealant I was trying to find. We stopped
at one of the hangars where he knew some guys working on a Howard and we
talked with them and they had some sealant in stock that we could borrow and
replace on Monday (called a place in Brooklyn Park that had the sealant but
couldn't make it over there before it closed). I had recognized the Howard
(and the pilots) as the one that flew into Fairmont a couple years ago. Nice
guys!

On Saturday, Montblack and I went up to Forest Lake to get the original tank
repaired. Met with Roger in Forest Lake and he said he had worked on the
aluminum tanks that were riveted but hadn't worked on the terneplate style
tank that I had that was soldered. He got the endplate of the tank
unsoldered and got the baffle/rib back in place but then ran into problems
getting the endplate soldered back on. He suggested taking it to a metal
shop and getting a new endplate fabricated that could be riveted in and use
the tank sealant.

Plan C: I took the tank back to Fairmont and stopped at the first metal shop
that I knew and he said he wouldn't touch it. He suggested the local
heating/plumbing shop so I took it over there. I know the owner of the
plumbing shop (fellow local pilot) and asked him if he could fabricate a new
endplate. He said he was busy with air-conditioning calls (Minnesota heat
wave in July) and would get back to me when he got it done. I kept calling
on him every few days to see how he was coming on repairing the tank. I had
hoped he would have it completed before he left for a few days at Oshkosh,
no luck. When he got back from Oshkosh, I talked with him and he had a new
endplate cut but wasn't able to bend it around the curved part with the
tools he had and suggested another metal shop. I took the tank, the original
endplate, the new unbent endplate piece and some tank sealant to the 3rd
shop. He called me a few days later and said it was ready. I picked it up
and paid him $125 for the repair. He had used the original endplate and got
it silver soldered back on and said he pressure tested it. I drove the tank
over to Jackson and the mechanic looked at it and said it looked OK but
needed to be cleaned out and handed me a hose. I filled the tank with water
and the endplate started leaking! Not a good thing. I guess it was good that
we checked it before mounting it on the plane. I took it back to the 3rd
metal shop and told him it leaks. I stopped by there a few days later and he
had the tank ready, again. I took the tank home, filled it with water -- no
leaks, on the repaired endplate!

Last Wednesday, I tried to call the mechanic in Jackson to say the tank was
ready but he wasn't around. Found out he had flown to Wisconsin and was
weathered in someplace on his way back. He finally called me back Monday and
said I could bring the tank over on Tuesday morning and assist on putting it
back on. Ok, I figured I'd drive the fuel tank over, help him put it back
on, fly the plane back to Fairmont and then get a ride back to Jackson to
get my car. We mounted the tank onto the wing and I suggested that we check
for leaks before putting all the fairings, floorboard and panels back on. I
filled up 2 gas cans with $40 worth of avgas and put that in the tank. The
endplate didn't leak, but the quick drain did... Ok, drain the fuel back
into the gas cans, replace the o-ring in the quick drain and try it again.
This time NO LEAKS. I helped put the faring back on (a 2 person job) with me
standing on my head inside holding the ny-lock nuts while he tightened the
screws from the outside. I reinstalled the floorboards, attached the brake
pedal (glad I don't have the rudder pedals!) and got the inside completed
while he finished up the hardware on the outside. He had replaced the
landing gear donuts and the fuel floats (the old cork floats wouldn't float
anymore) a couple weeks ago and just needed the tank installed before
signing off the inspection. Done. With the replacement of the donuts and
floats while in for inspection, it ended up costing 1 AMU. It was getting
late on Tuesday and I was beat from standing on my head in the cockpit most
of the day. I had the choice of flying in the heat of the day back to
Fairmont and be carless the rest of the day until I could get a ride back to
Jackson to get my car or just driving back and get a ride back to Jackson on
Wednesday.

Some things I've found out about Ercoupe fuel tanks. There are different
types depending on the S/N of the aircraft. Around serial number 813, they
changed the landing gear configuration and the fuel tanks for under that
number need a 'notch' in the tank for the gear. The ones after S/N 813 are
straight across the back edge and are usually aluminum and riveted together.
The older terneplate style ones (like mine with the 'notch') are stainless
steel (or alloy?) with part of it riveted and part silver soldered. The tank
that I had picked up at Wentworth was the 'new' style anyways and wouldn't
have fit even if it didn't have the sloshing compound problem. I have been
calling all over the country the past month getting information on tanks and
trying to find a replacement that will fit my under 813 Ercoupe. I have
found several places that have Ercoupe tanks, either for higher serial
numbers or the wrong side. Since my tank was repaired at a local metal shop
and not an 'approved' aircraft repair place, the mechanic says that he
wouldn't put anything in the logbook about the tank and figures it as an
'owner repair', and will deny any knowledge of it. He suggests to continue
looking for an 'approved' left wing tank for my Ercoupe and replace it. I
guess that's what I get for a 60 year old plane...

My cousin Verlus was available to fly me to Jackson on Wednesday (this)
morning at 7:30. He took me over there arriving about 8AM and he took off
back to Fairmont. The mechanic wasn't around yet. I waited at the airport
until the mechanic showed up around 8:45 and we got the plane pulled out of
the maintenance hangar and fueled it up the rest of the way. It's now back
in its hangar in Fairmont. So, $1k for the annual, etc, $125 for the tank
repair, 2 trips to Minneapolis and a few trips over to Jackson, it's finally
done. I was without the plane from June 30th until today and missed out on
several fly-in breakfasts in the area (and Jay's pre-Oshkosh party?). Next
year's annual will be due at the end of August so it 'should' be done early
in September...

THANKS to Montblack, Verlus, Roger and the others that have helped me with
this issue!

-Greg B.

"Greg B"
So, $1k for the annual, etc, $125 for the tank repair, 2 trips to
Minneapolis and a few trips over to Jackson, it's finally done. I was
without the plane from June 30th until today and missed out on several
fly-in breakfasts in the area (and Jay's pre-Oshkosh party?). Next year's
annual will be due at the end of August so it 'should' be done early in
September...

THANKS to Montblack, Verlus, Roger and the others that have helped me with
this issue!


What issue? g

"I deny any knowledge of it."

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/landof10klakes/album?.dir=/5a66re2
Select Slideshow (above the 4th picture)
Select Slow (Normal is the default speed)

July 15th. No titles or descriptions, just pics:

1. Tank was disassembled at the gas cap end.

2. Old (pre-war) method was to fold and solder the two pieces together.

3. End tank piece "fold" (which is about half of the flange) didn't want to
refold neatly after the baffle was re-soldered back into place. Much
tearing, like thin lead.

"Bye, Greg. Good luck."


Montblack

THANKS to Montblack, Verlus, Roger and the others that have helped me with
this issue!

Holy Crikey, Greg -- no wonder you've been AWOL.

Your experience exactly matches mine, whenever I try to "save money" on
a repair. It always, always, ALWAYS ends up taking a dozen extra
trips, a few more headaches, and, in the end, I always kick myself for
doing it.

Must be something about being "children of Depression-era parents", or
something, that forces us to do all this extra stuff to save a buck.
We're like lemmings to the sea, if there's a deal to be had over the
next cliff!

;-)

So when you coming to Iowa City? I STILL haven't seen this Ercoupe of
yours!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
I STILL haven't seen this Ercoupe of yours!


I've seen the inside of one of its gas tanks.


Montblack

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
So when you coming to Iowa City? I STILL haven't seen this Ercoupe of
yours!

Possibly this Sunday??? The choices of fly-ins this weekend are Iowa City or
Owatonna, MN. Hmmm....

-Greg B.

Gulp!!
Did Montblack tell you about running into Syd Cohen at OSH? Tons of
Ercoupe info poured from this man. He's a local Wisconsinite and if you
need a contact, just email me. I wouldn't be suprised if he knew of a
place to pick up a gas tank.
Jim

"Greg B" wrote in message
...
My annual inspection on the Ercoupe was due in June. What I usually do is
take the plane to the inspector late in the month and then he usually
signs/dates it the next month so I get close to 13 months between annuals.
So, I took my plane from Fairmont (FRM) to Jackson (MJQ) on June 30th
expecting to get it inspected the first part of July and have it back for
the many fly-in breakfasts during July and August.

So much for that plan. When I last fueled up before taking it over for the
annual, I saw in the left wing tank that one of the baffle/ribs had fallen
down inside the tank and just laying on the bottom. I mentioned this to
the mechanic/inspector and he said it would need to be repaired or
replaced before he'd sign off the annual inspection. He called me a couple
days later and said my options were to get the tank repaired or find a
replacement and he had found refurbished replacements for around $1,600 or
he could send my tank in someplace to repair for around $500.

Plan A: I called up Wentworth Aircraft in Minneapolis and they said they
had an Ercoupe tank in stock for $495. I told them I'd stop by and pick it
up the next day; saving the shipping costs and time(?). I drove from
Fairmont to Minneapolis and got to Wentworth at lunchtime. The salesman I
talked with about the tank was out for lunch and no one else knew much
about it. I waited around for the salesman and got the tank and drove it
back to Jackson. This was on a Friday and by the time I got to the Jackson
airport, the mechanic wasn't there but I left the tank there. The mechanic
called me on following Monday morning saying the tank I got at Wentworth
had sloshing compound used on it and that he wouldn't put it on my plane.
I guess I should have checked the tank closer when I got it from
Wentworth...

Plan B: During that week I had exchanged E-mails with Montblack about my
Ercoupe tank issue and he mentioned Roger Dufresne in Forest Lake that
repairs Ercoupe tanks. Great! I went over to Jackson and picked up the
Wentworth tank and assisted the mechanic with taking the original tank
off. I took both tanks up to Minneapolis to return the one to Wentworth
and repair the original one. I talked with Roger about repairing the tank
and he said he's repaired a few of them but wanted me to get some fuel
tank sealant. I found the sealant listed in Aircraft Spruce but needed it
quickly. I checked a few places here in Fairmont and also stopped at a
fuel tank (storage tanks) place in Mankato on the way to Minneapolis and
no one had the sealant. This was on a Friday and I was going to meet Roger
on Saturday to work on the tank. After dropping the Wentworth tank off and
getting a refund, I drove up to Anoka County airport and gave Montblack a
call. He said he could come over to the airport to meet me and offered me
a place to stay overnight. When Montblack arrived, he showed me around the
airport and I mentioned about the sealant I was trying to find. We stopped
at one of the hangars where he knew some guys working on a Howard and we
talked with them and they had some sealant in stock that we could borrow
and replace on Monday (called a place in Brooklyn Park that had the
sealant but couldn't make it over there before it closed). I had
recognized the Howard (and the pilots) as the one that flew into Fairmont
a couple years ago. Nice guys!

On Saturday, Montblack and I went up to Forest Lake to get the original
tank repaired. Met with Roger in Forest Lake and he said he had worked on
the aluminum tanks that were riveted but hadn't worked on the terneplate
style tank that I had that was soldered. He got the endplate of the tank
unsoldered and got the baffle/rib back in place but then ran into problems
getting the endplate soldered back on. He suggested taking it to a metal
shop and getting a new endplate fabricated that could be riveted in and
use the tank sealant.

Plan C: I took the tank back to Fairmont and stopped at the first metal
shop that I knew and he said he wouldn't touch it. He suggested the local
heating/plumbing shop so I took it over there. I know the owner of the
plumbing shop (fellow local pilot) and asked him if he could fabricate a
new endplate. He said he was busy with air-conditioning calls (Minnesota
heat wave in July) and would get back to me when he got it done. I kept
calling on him every few days to see how he was coming on repairing the
tank. I had hoped he would have it completed before he left for a few days
at Oshkosh, no luck. When he got back from Oshkosh, I talked with him and
he had a new endplate cut but wasn't able to bend it around the curved
part with the tools he had and suggested another metal shop. I took the
tank, the original endplate, the new unbent endplate piece and some tank
sealant to the 3rd shop. He called me a few days later and said it was
ready. I picked it up and paid him $125 for the repair. He had used the
original endplate and got it silver soldered back on and said he pressure
tested it. I drove the tank over to Jackson and the mechanic looked at it
and said it looked OK but needed to be cleaned out and handed me a hose. I
filled the tank with water and the endplate started leaking! Not a good
thing. I guess it was good that we checked it before mounting it on the
plane. I took it back to the 3rd metal shop and told him it leaks. I
stopped by there a few days later and he had the tank ready, again. I took
the tank home, filled it with water -- no leaks, on the repaired endplate!

Last Wednesday, I tried to call the mechanic in Jackson to say the tank
was ready but he wasn't around. Found out he had flown to Wisconsin and
was weathered in someplace on his way back. He finally called me back
Monday and said I could bring the tank over on Tuesday morning and assist
on putting it back on. Ok, I figured I'd drive the fuel tank over, help
him put it back on, fly the plane back to Fairmont and then get a ride
back to Jackson to get my car. We mounted the tank onto the wing and I
suggested that we check for leaks before putting all the fairings,
floorboard and panels back on. I filled up 2 gas cans with $40 worth of
avgas and put that in the tank. The endplate didn't leak, but the quick
drain did... Ok, drain the fuel back into the gas cans, replace the o-ring
in the quick drain and try it again. This time NO LEAKS. I helped put the
faring back on (a 2 person job) with me standing on my head inside holding
the ny-lock nuts while he tightened the screws from the outside. I
reinstalled the floorboards, attached the brake pedal (glad I don't have
the rudder pedals!) and got the inside completed while he finished up the
hardware on the outside. He had replaced the landing gear donuts and the
fuel floats (the old cork floats wouldn't float anymore) a couple weeks
ago and just needed the tank installed before signing off the inspection.
Done. With the replacement of the donuts and floats while in for
inspection, it ended up costing 1 AMU. It was getting late on Tuesday and
I was beat from standing on my head in the cockpit most of the day. I had
the choice of flying in the heat of the day back to Fairmont and be
carless the rest of the day until I could get a ride back to Jackson to
get my car or just driving back and get a ride back to Jackson on
Wednesday.

Some things I've found out about Ercoupe fuel tanks. There are different
types depending on the S/N of the aircraft. Around serial number 813, they
changed the landing gear configuration and the fuel tanks for under that
number need a 'notch' in the tank for the gear. The ones after S/N 813 are
straight across the back edge and are usually aluminum and riveted
together. The older terneplate style ones (like mine with the 'notch') are
stainless steel (or alloy?) with part of it riveted and part silver
soldered. The tank that I had picked up at Wentworth was the 'new' style
anyways and wouldn't have fit even if it didn't have the sloshing compound
problem. I have been calling all over the country the past month getting
information on tanks and trying to find a replacement that will fit my
under 813 Ercoupe. I have found several places that have Ercoupe tanks,
either for higher serial numbers or the wrong side. Since my tank was
repaired at a local metal shop and not an 'approved' aircraft repair
place, the mechanic says that he wouldn't put anything in the logbook
about the tank and figures it as an 'owner repair', and will deny any
knowledge of it. He suggests to continue looking for an 'approved' left
wing tank for my Ercoupe and replace it. I guess that's what I get for a
60 year old plane...

My cousin Verlus was available to fly me to Jackson on Wednesday (this)
morning at 7:30. He took me over there arriving about 8AM and he took off
back to Fairmont. The mechanic wasn't around yet. I waited at the airport
until the mechanic showed up around 8:45 and we got the plane pulled out
of the maintenance hangar and fueled it up the rest of the way. It's now
back in its hangar in Fairmont. So, $1k for the annual, etc, $125 for the
tank repair, 2 trips to Minneapolis and a few trips over to Jackson, it's
finally done. I was without the plane from June 30th until today and
missed out on several fly-in breakfasts in the area (and Jay's pre-Oshkosh
party?). Next year's annual will be due at the end of August so it
'should' be done early in September...

THANKS to Montblack, Verlus, Roger and the others that have helped me with
this issue!

-Greg B.

Dude...are you on the Ercoupe Owners Club email lists? You really
need to be:

http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm

"Bob Fry" wrote in message
...
Dude...are you on the Ercoupe Owners Club email lists? You really
need to be:

http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm

I am now...

Thanks Bob!

Jay Honeck wrote:
THANKS to Montblack, Verlus, Roger and the others that have helped me with
this issue!

Holy Crikey, Greg -- no wonder you've been AWOL.
"Holy Crikey"? That's a new one Jay :-)

Glad to hear the plane is back together Greg. Sounds like (not) a lot
of fun. Hmmm, maybe MontBlack has a new line of work as an airplane
parts/information broker. If only he could slow down the web surfing
and get on the MontJet project...


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Possibly this Sunday??? The choices of fly-ins this weekend are Iowa City or
Owatonna, MN. Hmmm....

We'll be working our booth at the annual SERTOMA Fly-In Breakfast at
our airport this Sunday. We'll look for you there!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"