We need a way to get gas into our planes so why not do it effectively with a part
that makes the plane look better at the same time?
Posted – 11-3-2014
Fit tings for refueling our airplanes seem like they should be one of the easiest parts of building them. The truth is that many of them can be an outright pain in the butt because of where they have to be located to miss everything inside the fuselage. That difficulty can be compounded by trying to screw the thin flat nut on the inner side of the fitting to secure it. Of course it loosens up in flight and you have to go through all this again. Well, somebody has actually been thinking and they conjured up a great looking solution for this problem.
The JEModel Fuel Dot is an elegant solution that is very easy to install (including AFTER the plane is built) and even easier to use because it actually works as designed thanks in no small part to the quality of the manufacturing. The JEModel Fuel Dot is almost entirely made from quality aluminum that has been precisely machined and nicely finished so it looks very attractive when mounted on an airplane. The only non-metal part is the O-ring on the insert that keeps it in the housing rather than slipping out to flop around on the end of the now dangling fuel line. The center insert is also machined from aluminum and has a nice looking “grip” along with a properly sized inner end that fits the fuel tubing securely but releases it for refueling without a fight.
Along with the good looks is an effective
seal that keeps fuel in and dirt out.
One of the key aspects of the JEModel Fuel Dot is that there is nothing that attaches to it from the inside of the plane. Nuthin”! It comes with six screws that are inserted through a nicely formed mounting flange to secure it to the side of the plane. You do have to cut a 9/16” (14mm) hole in the plane for it but that really is the toughest part of the installation. I actually cut one of the “other” fuel dots out of the fuselage and had to just trim the hole slightly for the JEModel Fuel Dot to slip into place. I put a drop of thin CA on the screws during installation and the JEModel Fuel Dot has remained snugly in place ever since.
All you have to do now is poke your fuel line through the JEModel Fuel Dot collar and insert the barbed end of the insert into the fuel line. Push that insert into the JEModel Fuel Dot collar and you are ready to fly. It looks very cool, stays put and doesn’t “drop” the fuel line as so many of the cheaper, less dignified alternatives do with such frustrating regularity.
I know that some are going to stomp on the drama button when they hear that the JEModel Fuel Dot sells for about $17.95. (11-1-2014) However, with what everything else on RC planes costs I think this is one of the better deals if we consider what we actually get for the dollars. It really is very easy to install. You don’t have to take the plane apart to get it in place and it actually does work as it is supposed to without us learning a special skill to make that happen. On top of all that the JEModel Fuel Dot just looks really cool on the plane, like it was designed for the job.
So if fueling your plane is frustrating, if the line keeps working its way out as you fly or if you tried gluing the outside part of a lesser fuel dot in because there was no humanly feasible way to get the nut on the inside, get the JEModel Fuel Dot. Yes it costs a few bucks and yes you could make one cheaper if you had a half-million dollar CNC center – the “I-can-make-it-guys” make me crazy. I think most of us will quit whining and buy something nice for our planes. After all, they keep coming back so we need to show them some love.
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