CUSTOM FUEL TANKS – December 17, 2018
The Switchblade needs fuel tanks for the flying prototype, and we have been making two tanks to hold enough fuel for flight testing. Although these won’t be as large of fuel tanks as we will have in production, the flying prototype doesn’t really need to maximize fuel capacity to operate well. Above is an image showing the reinforcing for the opening required to service the inside of the fuel tanks. In the image below you can see the type of plastic balls we will have inside the tanks. They act as surge protection and keep the fuel from sloshing around and creating noise and movement.
The final fuel tank sides have been created by the Samson Team and Kevin Abraham (below) is shown trimming one of the panels created earlier by Derek Fluker and Ronald Forseth. We still need to connect the fuel pumps, hose fittings, fill nozzle, and the mounts, but the fuel tank itself is being welded up today.
