Originally Posted by
Tankengine
Good stories.
Years ago I learnt another warning regarding fuel leaks : a Bellanca Scout at a gliding camp had fuel stains under one wing, it needed to be investigated. Unfortunately the next week, before any investigation of the leak, one of the wings departed on climb and the pilot was killed. Investigation showed the aircraft had been upside down on the ground sometime earlier and the wooden spar cracked but not picked up during the repair. Probably the fuel tank leak was due to stress on the tank from the wing flexing.
I remember it well, young TTE. (Afternoon Thomas) I was one of the last to fly it before the accident. I did the last days towing at the event and then flew the aeroplane back to its base across the ranges in a strong westerly. Plenty of turbulence was experienced. The wing failure was as a result of a compression shake in the wooden mainspar. As a consequence, the fuel tank was taking some of the flight loads and developing cracks which leaked fuel into the wing.
Greeb