Just heat the tank up with hot air gun and when it is clear from the heat, mash it down so it is a 1/4" narrower. I have reshaped tanks many times to get max fuel from using too big a tank.

chemie,
You are probably flying your SSE by now.
I finally came up with an idea that I liked for the hatch. Hope these pics come out. I used some 3/8 square hardwood to make the "mounting pieces" on each end. I made some edge stiffeners out of 1/4 tri stock. Was really quite easy to do. The only hard part was getting the 2-56 blind nuts and screws. If you want some details, I can post here. Won't be able to get to my computer for a day or so.

Here is the simple solution to the 10oz. tank installation. The need for removal can be satisfieed by cutting away the top and forward 1/3 of the phenolic wing spar carry thru tube. I can't imagine why you need that whole thing as the load is taken by the aluminum tube and the fuselage sides. I would still keep some of the tube to keep the fuselage sides from trying to bow in. Just remove the wing and the tube. Now your tank should slip out and over your cut away wing tube. Why won't that solve this problem???

According to our friends at SIG you can cut most of the phenolic tube away. It's primary purpose is a bushing for the tube not to provide strength for the fuse. I used a sanding drum on my Dremel and removed the leading 120 degrees of the tube leaving 1/8" in front of the servo tray for support. Approximately 1/4" was left exposed on the inside of the fuse sides. Much easier to access stuff packed into the forward compartment including the tank.

Remember to wrap whatever tank you choose using reinforced directional packing tape to provide for a rear-facing pull tab.

TTFN,

Here is my solution. I used 10oz Sullivan cylinder tank (link on page 1).

Modifications were:

1. Lower floor 1/4" (Photo 1).
2. Expand cut-out in tank floor ply. It needs to be large enough for entire tank to sit down under it. (Photo 2 - marked with removed areas))
3. Shave a bit off the hatch hold-down strip (Photo 2). NOTE: When I was dry fitting, I did not have this piece in place. It causes all kinds of problems as it shrinks the space between it and the phenolic tube. I expected this is why even the 8oz Dubro does not pull out.
4. Shave a bit off the bottom of F-2 (shape link cylinder). I took it down to even with the triangle stock (just in the middle) (no photo)
5. Tape tank per intructions to pull out
6. Added hole to firewall. I wanted to have the fuel line as high as possible to line up to carb so I oriented the tubes vertically versus horizon or side-by side. (Photo 5)

Photo 3 and 4 show the tank being inserted. You have to turn it 90 deg so the bump on top clears and then have it sit flat inside the fuse. Then turn 90 degress back to normal and bump it up onto the tank floor. It is hard but it fits.

I added 1/4" foam on floor, side and roof.

I agree that cutting the phenolic tube would help greatly. At first I did not want to touch this. In thinking about the above comments, I agree it is not structural but definitely gets in the way.

Anyway, I have a 10oz with minor mods that can be removed through natural birth methods.

At the risk of hi-jacking my own thread, I am confused on a subsequent step.

I have built the top hatch per instructions. They have you glue down some 3/16"x1/4" strips on the outside edge prior to gluging in the sheeting. However, I do not understand why they are there. When I look at the profile, it looks to me like I will end up removing all the strip when I sand to match the profile on the forward section???

See photo to see that the contour of the forward section does not overlap with any of the strip. Do I sand this away after adding the sheeting (meaning it is there to give the sheeeting something to sit against while gluing but otherwise it no longer needed?)

Or do I sand back on the front endge but then tap "up" towards the rear of the hatch such that most of the strip is there by the back cap portion?

If you were to skip the side rails then sheeting would be glued to the lite ply hatch base along the side of the hatch. Then you would sand the sheeting down to the edge to shape. Not much structure would be left and this hatch is (ab)used frequently. The sheeting is edge is trimmed to fit the vertical backside of the rail. That leaves a bunch of wood to work with before covering.

HTH,

Here's some of my build pics ...

Thanks Seamus: Do you have a photo (uncovered) after sanding? I do not see how you shape the rear portion where the sheeting tapers off..or did you add filler or something? If I follow the angle of the sheeting, you would remove all the square stock and a bunch of the ply too. Still very confused.

Also, I did not like how the end cap had very little support (very little contact due to the angle) so I glued a front 1/4" sq which was cut to the angle to act as angle fillet support (like triabgle stock). Was I missing something there? I agree it will be used a lot and just a small tab with about 30% of wood contact and a bit of glue did not cut it.

I think you must have missed something on the instructions. I am not sure what you are doing. I have built 2 SSEs and that hatch assembly works just fine. It is a little tough to build but seems to fit fine and is fairly easy to remove. I have an outside switch and charging jack. Because of that and the fact that I never remove the wings, I don't need to remove the hatch often. Friends of mine have located their switch inside and use a magnet to hold the hatch down.

If you zoom in on the 2nd pic you can see the detail of the hatch though a bit fuzzy.

HTH

<edited> PS .. The designer of the SSE lurks on this site. His comments convinced me to "trust the designer" 'cause the design works and it works well. I'm thinking that you should give SIG tech a call and have a conversation with those guys. They have been very helpful for me during builds. 641-623-0215 is the modeler's tech line.

chemie,
I think maybe you are "over thinking" the hatch. I agree with you, it seems a bit odd, but I built mine per the instructions and then sanded it down while mounted to the plane. In fact, I sanded one side, then used a razor plane on the other side to remove most of the wood, and then finished sanded it. I does come out just fine. Maybe contact Sig like SeamusG suggested?
But since you brought up the hatch, I was curious how most people installed the canopy. I useally use smalll canopy screws, but not sure about this one. Was going to paint the interior, and then maybe glue to the painted surface. What do you guys think? And chemie, sorry for the minor hijack, but you will come to this part as well, if you haven't already.

Oh and "natural birth" remark made my day, LOL.

I carpeted the floor and rear cockpit former with dark gray craft paper using 3M 77 adhesive. I covered the entire hatch with ultracote bright yellow which is fairly transparent (shows all my mistakes ). Taking the suggestion of my LHS "best builder in the area" suggestion to keep trimming on the canopy until it fits flush with the hatch without applying any pressure. I repeat, without applying any pressure. Once trimmed I used a thin Sharpie to outline the canopy. Then, after a couple of Margaritas, I used a brand new #11 Xacto blade to cut a thin strip about 1/16" just inside the Sharpie line. I practiced positioning the canopy. Couldn't do it by hand so I added a tape hinge between the peak of the cockpit former and the peak of the canopy. The canopy was then laid back behind the hatch still attached by the tape hinge. I then laid down a bead of SIG's canopy glue on the exposed wood and around the perimeter of the rear cockpit former. Then, very carefully, swing the canopy back over the hatch and into the glue bead. Use tape to carefully hold the canopy in place - not much pressure or the canopy will be distorted.

HTH,

<edited> Btw, I added the black trim tape for effect. Yes, I could have done a better job on the bead of glue. [&o]

Mesa:

Hi-jacks welcome. You are correct I will need the info anyway. Natural birth seemed to describe; espeically compared tot he surgury option required now the top sheeting is glued in above the tank. Your fule tank section hatch looks like a good solution too.

For your main hatch sanding, did you sand away part of the ply? In my case, it looks like even a portion of the ply will need to be sanded to match the front portion profile. If you look at the photo above, you can see both ply and 1/4" stock sticking out past the profile.

Again, any guidance on how to taper this back towards the end cap?

Any comments on how sturdy your end cap was? Mine was very loose (aliphatic glue; after the fact, I thought maybe epoxy would have been better). I will post a photo with the extra support added later.

chemie,
Not quite sure I understand your question. Hope this isn't getting too frustrating. I didn't need to sand any of the ply, or if I did, it was VERY little. The 1/4" stock is on top, and it gets tapered when sanded. Is your 1/4" stock on the edge of the canopy floor? I think after you have to hatch in place, you will get an idea of how much gets sanded. When you post a pick of your hatch, maybe we can see what's going on?
My end cap was not real strong, so I used epoxy to glue it together. Probably not necessary, but makes me feel better. I would guess that Sig figures that when the canopy gets glued on, the canopy holds the end cap in place.
And for what its worth, I did not like the idea of cutting the tube, but that's just me. And, I plan on mounting my tank hatch, and then putting the covering over the hatch seams to keep it good and sealed. I will probably use a small amount of silicone at the seam on the firewall. Should still be able to easily cut the covering and silicone if I should ever need to remove the hatch.

Oh yea - forgot to share my mishap when installing the canopy - Don't put pressure on the rear former (headrest) when you tape the canopy down to let the glue dry. Why? Well, since the headrest is fairly flimsy the pressure will lay the headrest back a bit. When all is dry the headrest will be angled too far back and the hatch will not fit. Do you really want to know how I know this bit of trivia?[sm=cry_smile.gif]

Don't 'cha just love this neighborhood of excess knowledge about (mis)building airplanes-n-stuff?

Cheers,

SeamusG,

After reading your post I don't feel so bad. I had a time with the canopy as well. After measuring and remeasuring I glued it and it wouldn't fit after it dried. I wrestled with it and got it to work.
But I love this plane. I flew it all last season. Originally came in tail heavy fo me. I shaved off a half a pound of weight and I threw a Magnum XL.53 on it with an APC 11 x 5 prop. It's a better flyer when it's lighter. I like it! I would like to change out the wing tube and landing gear to carbon and shave some more weight.

Good luck
Frank

Em - brotherhood of speed freaks? What's that about? Over 200 mph on the street?

My 1st SSE was, well, a basket case partially built and sold for $25 at an auction. I got it for "services rendered" (get you minds outa the gutta - software installation!). I finished it off and flew I a dozen times. Then I decided to see how she rolled on high rates. Well, one of the 1/4-20 nylon bolts holding a wing on vibrated out. When I hit the stick full left - there went one of the wings flying off into the sunset. A smart butt watching asked why I didn't try flying a knife edge until final approach then roll just before touchdown. Yea, right. Nothing left. A chance to build one from scratch. Mine is waiting to maiden - if the wind would just die down a bit.

Cheers,

SeamusG,

Haven't you've seen the RC Universe " Extreme Speed Prop Planes" forum? Check it out.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_104/tt.htm

I can't drive fast around Chicago anymore. So I fly fast.

Good luck.
Frank

Well, I got the hatch sanded and it looks "OK" but it took a ton of sanding and fair amount of filler (the front part of the sheeting got compressed from my clamps and this caused the front to be too low and need a fair amount of build-up using filler).
I must say, this hatch was my least favorite part of the build (so far). I am now in "assembly" (vs building) mode.

I understand you sentiments. Good news is that it won't affect how well the plane flies. Do a nice covering job and you will be the only one that knows.

Yes, but I have never covered before either so that is they reason for the qualified "so far".....

New thread started for my current issue with the tail support arms....

chemie,
If you have never covered before, hopefully you have looked at some of the videos for how it's done. Once you get a little experience, it's really pretty easy. Just take it slow at first. RCKen and Minnflyer (hope I get this right) have some pages in here as well as videos. If you need help, just ask on here. I am about to cover mine as well. And in my opinion, (and there are many opinions on here) Ultracote is a lot easier to install than Monocote, but mono has become easier for me, now that I have done a few planes. Good luck