Van's RV-9A in Aurora

The Big Picture

The Big Picture
Flying! 8/28/2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Got in another hour yesterday, flying test card 12d, 125 in the right seat and 25 in the baggage. Next up is 150 + 45.
Found problem that's been nagging me. When ever I had a steep attitude, during climbs or stalls, I would get a smell of fuel. And occasionally on the ground. I had somewhat suspected the vents, but I kept looking at the fuel selector with greater suspicion.
Yesterday I refueled after the morning flight, so the fuel was cool. I pushed out of the hangar in the afternoon and the warmer air made the fuel expand. I was noticing a fuel smell when I saw it: A drip of fuel from the lower right fuel vent fittings. These are routed inside the cockpit. It was actually dripping!
I put a wrench on it. I appeared it had never been tightened. After all the inspections, nobody caught it, especially me. These vent lines blend in to the background and don't get much attention. We'll see if this fixes the fuel smell during flight.