Upgraded Oil Tank Getting Fixed

Viking advertised an upgraded oil tank, which I immediately purchased when I first heard about it.  The upgrade was made to address the adhesive mounted top and bottom of the oil tank.  The upgraded tank featured an all welded assembly.  In addition to the welded structure, a new bung was added to the tank in order to facilitate oil circulation into and out of the PSRU via the upgraded oil tank.

Unfortunately with the upgraded oil tank, Viking changed the location of the oil pickup line to a more forward (and unconservative) location which caused problems with intermittent oil starvation.  Most probably the forward location during high angle of attack (climb) and perhaps cavitation as well appear to have contributed to the problem.

Viking has not provided any solution to the problem for whatever reason....so a few of us builders have taken matters into our own hands.

Shown below are pictures of the modified upgraded oil tank's drain plug plate.  The cap with the holes is what we have called an anti-vortex device, designed to halt any tendancy of the oil pump to "out suck" the oil level in the tank.  The second feature is an AN elbow fitting that, like the anti-vortex device, has been TIG welded onto the aft end of the drain plug plate.  Hopefully, these changes will faciliate a more conservative location of oil pickup and also eliminate the pump cavitation issue.

New and primed oil hatch getting installed with Right Stuff onto bottom of Upgraded Oil tank....looking upward.

 Another couple of pictures showing flexible oil pickup line routing up to the engine block from the tank.

Ultimately, the only way to test this mod is to flight test it, so stay tuned for that.