Hey all, I just became the proud owner of a new to me KF IV Classic 1200, built in 2001 and currently with ~1100hrs TTAF and 140 on the engine, last flight was in 2019 before the owner unfortunately passed away. The previous owner had some fuel tank leaks and fabric repairs that were never addressed and I want to get everything fixed correctly.

The header tank leaked (poly tank), and I am planning to replace it with a new aluminum one from KF. The wing tanks don't have any signs of de-lam and I was told the previous owner only ran 100LL. However, the fittings for each tank leaked and caused some fabric damage. On top of the that, the fittings look too close to the outer most wing rib to remove without either pulling the tanks or cutting the ribs.

Maybe a stupid question but I think the 90 degree brass fitting goes into the female brass which I assume is threaded into the tank, not bonded?

My thoughts are to pull the fabric off the tanks the entire circumfrence of the wing so that I can fix the leaking fuel fittings, and at the same time have a good sample to perform a pull test to determine fabric condition. I plan to repair all of the little nicks and squawks I have with the current fabric before repainting the entire plane (assuming it tests well) so I am not opposed to a bit of fabric work.

In regards to fuel fittings and lines, what are the best practices, I've seen some run hard lines (aside from pivot points etc), others use rubber, and I want to use whatever the collective minds on here reccomend.

Am I missing an obvious answer, or is there an easier way to fix these leaks than pulling all the fabric off the tanks area of the wings? Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated!


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