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COZY: Gas cap retainer tip

Curt Boyll
 

I was told to use actual small chain, not beaded chain, when I bought a used VariEze. Fuel Cap Safety chains were among a few things that my mentor, a Long-EZ builder/pilot, said I needed before I had his permission to fly the plane myself.

And after many years of use, I have to agree that beaded chain is likely not strong enough for the task.

Curt Boyll
VariEze, Cozy - Colorado
(Several years after much advice from my canard mentor, I asked him how I could REPAY all of the help he had given me, and very likely saving me from serious trouble. He said, “Two Things: Don’t kill yourself in this airplane; And, when the next guy comes along, give him the same sort of help.”)

On Aug 5, 2022, at 3:24 PM, Mike Satchell <mike.satch@...> wrote:

I copied and installed Vance's fuel cap retainer, connected to a metal bead chain and connected that to the gas cap.
Fueling after a test flight, the pilot side cap's chain only had about 6" of slack in it because the retainer had slid through R53's bottom vent opening.
Mike Satchell
 

Thanks Curt.
The beads on this chain are .2" or about 5 mm in diameter.   Tensile strength is 100 .lbs.  Same ones used on vertical blinds.

Regards,
Mike Satchell

On Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 8:24 PM <curtb442@...> wrote:
I was told to use actual small chain, not beaded chain, when I bought a used VariEze. Fuel Cap Safety chains were among a few things that my mentor, a Long-EZ builder/pilot, said I needed before I had his permission to fly the plane myself.

And after many years of use, I have to agree that beaded chain is likely not strong enough for the task.

Curt Boyll
VariEze, Cozy - Colorado
(Several years after much advice from my canard mentor, I asked him how I could REPAY all of the help he had given me, and very likely saving me from serious trouble. He said, “Two Things: Don’t kill yourself in this airplane; And, when the next guy comes along, give him the same sort of help.”)

> On Aug 5, 2022, at 3:24 PM, Mike Satchell <mike.satch@...> wrote:
>
> I copied and installed Vance's fuel cap retainer, connected to a metal bead chain and connected that to the gas cap.
> Fueling after a test flight, the pilot side cap's chain only had about 6" of slack in it because the retainer had slid through R53's bottom vent opening.
Dale Martin
 

Curt,

All ball chains are not created equal.  Shaw Aero fuel caps use ball chains as standard equipment and are MIL-SPEC.  I have never known anyone to lose a tethered Shaw Aero cap.
I also have seen extremely rudimentary attachments for the ball chain to caps that appear will not stand the test of time.
Fortunately I have never tested mine by not latching the cap.

Use this link to find out more;

https://www.ballchain.com/3-nickel-plated-steel-ball-chain-spool/?gclid=CjwKCAjwi8iXBhBeEiwAKbUofYsED5RQOgYeeN6x-8DFRsaoy7PSDEqpWA7VV5Q1ZbsUVuvZ5SS9txoC7fAQAvD_BwE



Dale
http://www.long-ez.com
=====================>

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke.


On Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 6:24 PM Curt Boyll via groups.io <curtb442=icloud.com@groups.io> wrote:
I was told to use actual small chain, not beaded chain, when I bought a used VariEze. Fuel Cap Safety chains were among a few things that my mentor, a Long-EZ builder/pilot, said I needed before I had his permission to fly the plane myself.

And after many years of use, I have to agree that beaded chain is likely not strong enough for the task.

Curt Boyll
VariEze, Cozy - Colorado
(Several years after much advice from my canard mentor, I asked him how I could REPAY all of the help he had given me, and very likely saving me from serious trouble. He said, “Two Things: Don’t kill yourself in this airplane; And, when the next guy comes along, give him the same sort of help.”)

> On Aug 5, 2022, at 3:24 PM, Mike Satchell <mike.satch@...> wrote:
>
> I copied and installed Vance's fuel cap retainer, connected to a metal bead chain and connected that to the gas cap.
> Fueling after a test flight, the pilot side cap's chain only had about 6" of slack in it because the retainer had slid through R53's bottom vent opening.

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