I was just about to glue in the floor of my 4*40 below the tank when I had a thought...

"Should I drill a hole in the bottom in case the tank leaks?"

I had a small leak in my LT-40 due to a loose hose. It was not a problem since I used 3 coats of dope to fuel proof it

I am going to fuel proof the floor as well, but then I thought if I put a hole in it, I could see fuel as it came out... What do you think???

i will usually take my wing off regularly..("will" because i haven't finished building yet so if there is a leak.. i'll see it.... i wouldn't make a hole...

just my 2 cents

I would go for it, I had a leak in a Great Planes fuel tank once and ended up pumping quite a bit of fuel into the fuselage of my plane before I knew about it. It actually started coming out around the wing saddle.

Same happened to me. Drill a hole.

drilling a hole would make you detect the leak immidiatly, yes...

but I'm just not fond of an additional hole beneath.

Me neither

I make a habit of always putting a 3/8th inch drain hole in the tank compartment whenever possible.
I drill the hole, then coat with a few layers of fuel proofing. That way the sides of the hole are protected from the leaking fuel and the hole decreases in diameter slightly but still leaves more than enough room for drainage.
Trust me, you'd rather see the leak and stop fueling vs. toasting your receiver with glow fuel or gas!!!

Jeff

On the 4*40 the fuel would run under f2 and out in front of the wing. Gary

I just fuel proffed the floor with Dope. The fuel will run out in front of the wing. Thanks! I will cut a hole in a plane that has a different setup, though.

Here's another trick that helps if you do get a leak. Put the tank in a strong plastic bag and cinch it around the lines but not tight enough to cut off flow. If you do get a leak the bag will catch most of it for you.