A WARNING, CHECK ALL THOSE FUEL LINE AND FUEL TANK CONNECTIONS !!

I've put 20 flights on my Reactor in the past couple weeks. Great flyer !

The DLE 55 was running great and the plane performing flawlessly until the engine started to sputter and then quit.

After landing, found out the rubber stopper popped out of the fuel tank.....my fault....I mismatched a different brand fuel tank with a different brand rubber stopper. I was attempting to use a smaller tank to save some weight. The stopper appeared to be tight and leak-free when it was first installed, but then I discovered the stopper I used was not deep enough to spread out inside the fuel tank after tightening the stopper screw.

There's a LOT of foam inside the Reactor. Unfortunately, gasoline also found all of this foam as it splashed everywhere. Bottom of canopy is ruined. Bottom rear of fuse now feels like a big pile of mushy Jello. Fuselage is not repairable and is now junk.

Over the years I've either had fuel tanks split, or had fuel lines pop off glow engines, but they all had wood fuses and wings. Took a little work, but they were always repairable.

Ever tried dumping gasoline into a foam coffee cup ? Picture that then try to picture my Reactor. Kinda looks like it melted.

I'm picking up another Reactor tomorrow. Lessons learned ? Get a matching fuel tank and gas stopper. Due to the fact a lot of foam is used in the fuse, my next Reactor will be equipped with barbed fuel lines that are all clamped. I also believe large plastic sandwich bags are somewhat fuel-proof.......for a short time at least. I'm going to try to fit the fuel tank into at least two of these bags.

It's just too nice a plane to give up on, so it's time to reorder.

Joe M.