Ever wonder why static systems often start to leak after a couple of years? See the little plastic insert between the two tubes in the photo? It is supposed to be inserted into the end of the tube. Without it, the tubing will eventually start to collapse as seen on the right tube and cause a leak!
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Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook takes the temperature of the homebuilt industry at the first big fly-in of the season.
Build Your Skills: Composites (Part 10)
What do you do when your horizontal stabilizer isn't exactly horizontal? First, you check that the fuselage is level. If this confirms that the stabilizer is indeed slightly off, remove it and apply heat. Sounds simple, but there's a right and a wrong way to go about it, and author Bob Fritz describes the most effective method to straighten things out.
Problem I had with the static lines installed for the altitude hold sensor for the sTek autopilot: apparently the tubes were not ‘approved’ and they got brittle and shattered in the tail area. Took about 15 years from installation, and were not caught during the annual inspection.