Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 11:56 am
by gethomas
Accidentally spilled a few ounces of fuel (mogas). The windshield was severely damaged breaking out of frame. See pictures.
Has anyone replaced a windshield with Plexiglas acrylic? Seems like fill location with Lexan is problematic.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 6:49 pm
by WaiexN143NM
hi guy,
sorry to see this happen to you. when i refuel i have a towel i put over the lexan to protect it. keep it in the baggage bay. a few others have spilled fuel, with the disasterous results. i think its good to keep lexan as its good for bird strikes. the bigger canopy is plexi, easy to blow and easy to polish. lexan very easy to scratch. id get a new piece from sonex. home depot carries lexan, but clear no tint.
good luck!
michael
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:55 am
by Matt541
Wow! Sorry to see that, but thank you for sharing your experience. And all from a few ounces, yikes! Definitely has me rethinking my fueling method.
My understanding is that anyone who has a Todd’s canopy has (the option of) a plexi windscreen as they were formed and shipped as one complete bubble. So, there is legacy Sonex products out there flying with them. Tinted plexi sheets can be found online, this was an option I considered when it was time to replace mine. (I stuck with the Lexan.)
Good luck in whichever path you take.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:38 am
by bakerde36
I had the same thing happen to me. You can find smoke Lexan online but it is the shipping that will be the cost even from Sonex.
I went to my local race car parts dealer and bought a piece of clear lexan off him for 100 bucks.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 10:51 am
by Onex107
My Onex windshield was damaged in the first few hours. Then I read the manual. The Onex fuel cap is through a hole in the windshield and just a drop of fuel causes a crack. When I had a leaky fuel nozzle it ran down the firewall bow and caused 50 little short cracks in the front edge. My cracks are vertical. parallel with the centerline of the windshield. One next to the fuel hole is about 4 inches long. I’m replacing the windshield, at 300 hours, as we speak with the same Sonex part and vow to be more careful fueling. I bought a fuel pump for 5 gal. cans that pumps 5 gal. in 3 minutes and I don’t spill a drop anymore. Onex windshield is $150.00.
After the original crack I bought some peel and stick black vinyl and put a tapered protected area around the fuel hole that helped with the drips. I’m not sure a towel would be enough protection.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:46 pm
by sonex892.
When fuel is spilt on the lexan the only way to minimise the damage is to wipe it off immediately! Before it begins to evaporate. I have used the shirt I was wearing at the time, more than once.
Steve
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:41 pm
by gcm52
I purchased tinted Lexan from a place that sells screens and screen doors. Was about $100 for a size big enough for a Onex windshield.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:31 pm
by Rofomoto
I got 4x8 sheet of lexan (bronze tint) from Home Depot for 190.00 it’s enough for two windshields.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:39 pm
by WesRagle
Hi Guys,
This thread came up just as I was playing around with some Lexan. I was thinking about forming some lexan for my Onex fuel cap cover. The cover ended up right where I want to see during takeoff and while in the landing flare.
So, I’m going to piggy back onto this thread for a post.
First, turns out you can form Lexan in the oven by heating to 310 F. My oven’s “bang bang” controller over shot about 18 degrees but it didn’t seem to hurt anything. The Lexan didn’t form by itself but was easy to form around a can by hand at that temperature.
My fuel cutout from the scrap box:
Then this thread came up and I decided to throw the thing in some Avgas. While I was at it I cut a little square of lexan from a sheet I had. I also included a piece of stressed lexan for good measure.
I let them soak for an hour and got them out and cleaned them up with some WashWax. The stressed piece was the only piece that “appeared” to be affected. It was heavily crazed.
I went ahead and soaked the samples in Mo Gas just for good measure.
The crazing of the stressed piece continued but the other samples appeared unaffected again.
The question that popped into my mind was: Are all of the pieces damaged but the damage is only visible on the stressed piece?
The best way I could come up with to answer that question was to “pinch” the two flat pieces between my fingers and see what happened. As suspected the crazed piece snapped in two. The other piece just folded as you would expect an unexposed piece of lexan to do.
Now there’s some useless information generated by someone obviously out of anything to do 
Wes
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 9:53 pm
by WaiexN143NM
hi all,
thanks billy for the update on tinted lexan now avbl at home depot.
and wes for your experimenting. the lower part of windscreens would get the most fuel due to gravity, and thats where the screws are and curvature starts, , so its stressed in that area.
and steve great idea to try to save the windscreen with prompt action.
best to everyone, stay safe, and hoping to see everyone at airventure 2021.
WaiexN143NM
Michael
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:46 am
by Gordon
Another solution to spilling fuel on the Lexan windscreen.
I bought the “FloFast fuel transfer pump” at Fleet Farm when I was in Oshkosh a couple years ago. This is the real answer for pumping fuel into my Onex. It hand cranks 8 gal per minute. The tank I have is 10.5 gal (there are other sizes) and I have it mounted on a 2 wheel cart to move around in the hangar.
No more lifting heavy 5 gal Jerry cans and pouring into a funnel. The FloFast pump is used in the marine industry and for fueling ATV’s and the like. Mine cost $269.00 a couple years ago and is worth the money…it’s a quality unit. The other cool feature…if you crank the handle backwards it will suck at the same rate. So…I go to the gas station and fill my 3 five gal Jerry cans in the back of the pickup…come back to the hangar…suck it out of there into the FloFast 10.5 gal tank and then pump it into my Onex.
Of course if you fuel up at some distant airport you are committed to using their oversized fuel nozzle…good luck with that.
Google “FloFast fuel transfer pump”…and watch the promotional video.
Note: I tested a strip of the Lexan I cut off of my windscreen during construction. I put held/clamped it into a bend similar to my windshield, dribbled some mogas on it and within a minute it was completely crazed and cracked.
Gordon…Hummel 2400…Onex C-IODB
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 8:11 pm
by WaiexN143NM
Hi all,
On the zenith site , john austin, who has a CH750 , overfilled his fuel tanks, and the gas ran down the lexan verticle windows behind the entry doors. The lexan is flat, the fuel caused crazing, no cracks. he covered with dark tint
and zenith logo with names who helped on the build. Not sure if he was using mogas or 100LL or if that even matters.
http://www.zenith.aero
also he mention a company for a shout out
http://www.aircraftstickers.com
take a look.
best,
michael
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 11:53 pm
by gammaxy
A fueler accidentally splashed a lot of 100LL directly on my Lexan. I wiped it clean and haven’t noticed any damage. The edges aren’t sealed at all, so I’m sure fuel leaked under it and into the screw holes and I wasn’t completely able to clean it. I wonder if 100LL vs MOGAS matters or I just got lucky?
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:37 am
by WesRagle
Hi Chris,
gammaxy wrote:I wonder if 100LL vs MOGAS matters or I just got lucky?
I did a little experiment a couple of days ago. The stressed Lexan crazed with 100LL and MOGAS. Ref: http://sonexbuilders.net/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=5813#p43915.
I wonder if significant time in the hot sun anneals the Lexan and makes it less susceptible to cracking.?.?
Wes
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:37 am
by flyingbear
UGH…after 50 hours of fueling with 2 gallon gas cans with no issues of spillling gas on the windshield, I tried a 5 gallon can and spilled gas. Of course it ran down the channel between the canopy and the cowl that seems just perfect for channeling the fuel to the max area …I flushed with water and all seems ok until the next morning. I have cracks about 2 inches long all up and down the front of my canopy now. I cannot believe anyone would design such a system.
I think, since it is not very visible from the cockpit, I may just cover the area with kitchen contact counter top plastic and see how that looks and works.
Glen Bradley
PS- does anyone know the source (not Sonex) of the tailwheels that Sonex uses. Surely they are about half price from the supplier. My rain grooved runway eats them up fast.
850.816.4868
glenbradley@rocketmal.com
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:37 am
by XenosN42
I’ve used this pump for about 5 years now to transfer 100LL from 5 gallon cans into my OneX. Have never had a spill or problem.
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:27 pm
by WesRagle
Hi Glen,
Sorry about your bad luck.
I’ve found this to be a good solution for the “sub-optimal” Onex fueling situation. At 15 gallons I usually only have to call for fuel every three or four flights.
I also have some https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL40160-5. It fits perfectly over the fuel fill nozzle of the fuel truck.
Look at the bright side. Unlike some other designs, the Onex will turn without having to plan ahead Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Best of Luck,
Wes
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:25 pm
by flyingbear
I have used only about 10 gallons of 100LL in 45 hours. I use 93 oct no ethanol. I had no problem until I tried to use a 5 gallon can instead of my usual 2 gallon can. I may just invest in one of your devices but it is too late now for this windshield.
glen
Re: Winshield fuel damage
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:44 pm
by WesRagle
HI Glen,
Not “my device”. It was suggested by Gord and I followed his lead. I’ve been very happy with it.
Ref. https://sonexbuilders.net/posting.php?mode=reply&f=58&t=5813#pr43917.
It doesn’t care what kind of gas you put in it.
Wes