Hey guys,
I'm currently finishing my first Plane (Midwest Aerostar 40) and at the point of covering. Having been lurking around the forums and reading about installing hatches to make access more convinient and quicker, I'm considering putting a hatch in the nose to access the fuel tank and lines easier. Knowing full well that this plane will be turned into a lawn dart at some point during it's career, is it worth the time to install a hatch?

I would say absolutely! It really isn't that much trouble or take that much time to do. There are many reasons why a fuel hatch is a good idea.... If you have a fuel leak you'll need to fix it. If you have a problem with dead sticks (engine quitting in flight) you might want to make sure the clunk isn't stuck or that you have the vent line up where it's supposed to be. On the notion of it being a lawn dart, it might take a punch to the nose but not be quite be dead so you might need to reenforce the firewall, glue it back together or re-glue some of the blind nuts. There are several other good reasons, but in short. I would always install a tank hatch just in case. Just my 2 cents...

Rick

Rick is right. You will be never be sorry to make a component accessible. There is a corollary to Murphy's Law: Any component that is visible or easily accessible will never fail!

Thanks for the confirmation Guys. I prety much knew it was a good idea but because this is my first build and first plane I'm keeping in mind that impacting the earth is going to be inevitable.[:@] The hatch will be well braced for that inevitability.
Again thanks for the replies.
Wayne

I don't know this exact plane, but are you saying that as designed it has absolutely no access to the tank compartment? Most planes I've seen allow you to replace the tank without taking the covering and balsa apart. It's not always easy, but there's usually a way. In fact Great Planes tanks have a hole in the back so you can fish them out with a hook.

I'm not saying you shouldn't install a hatch. I really like them myself. But I think you may be missing something in the way the designer meant for you to replace the tank.

It's a Midwest Aerostar 40. There is access through the reciever compartment under the wing. This will be a very difficult way to troubleshoot fuel issues. The hatch will be installed in the nose forward of the wing saddle.

Always put a hatch in. Fishing the tank in from the back is such a pain. Especially once the radio gear is all installed. Very seldom will I build one without a hatch to the tank. Makes things so much more easy.

I'm going to go against the grain here. For your first plane or two a hatch is a good idea, but they also make the nose weaker and add weight and may cause more vibration if the nose isn't braced well.

I install tanks through the wing saddle area and never found it to be much trouble.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform..._fuel_tank.htm

- Paul

I don't care much either way but I was going to comment on the structural integrity as well. Obviously it won't be as stong but ease of tank access might be more important. Just something to think about. For me I've built (and un-built) a lot of planes from scratch so it's not a big deal to have to perform surgery. For others it might be.

I agree with Caffeen, I do not put hatches were hatches are not specified. I feel the structural integrity is more important than some ease of assembly and service. But then I fix cars for a living so for me this is normal. I don't really think too much about it I just live with the hassles.

Mark Shuman