Reminds of the time when I argued with an FBO that he "oversold " me fuel...it turned out to be a leak!

The Aerostar's wings are so thin that when fully fueled and left where temperatures are rising whether it be in a hangar or outside, the fuel will expand rapidly and it has to go somewhere. The venting system works, however, internal pressures will find the weakest point whether it be a vent or a rivet. The best way to prevent rivets from leaking (after fixing them) in an Aerostar is to keep tanks un-fueled until half our before departure. Even then on a warm day you will see the vents working. It's amazing to see how fast fuel expands in the Aerostar's wings. Even white or light color painted wings will not prevent this event from happening. Best case is to fuel about an 1" short of the lower lip and all will be well. If you do want to get full fuel capacity, well, that's an art into itself. Walter, you know all about that. A strong back is needed. Lift the wing, fuel to max capacity, go to the other side and repeat process then repeat the process again on both sides. Get in the airplane quickly and go.
I love my NA Aerostar. Such a fun bird to fly.

You fellows understand that it kind of makes me shudder when we talk about weeping wings. Not because of the issue, but because it makes fodder for 3rd parties over blowing the issue with the Aerostar. "Weeping wings" have been the supposed nemesis of Mooneys "forever". I say "supposed" because the issue was not that the Mooney's leaks could not be fixed, it was that owners kept trying to side step the issue with cheap remedies.

I have replaced bladders in Beechcraft airplanes and repaired tank leaks in a Bravo and Aerostar. If you look at the relative costs of each in the long run, there isn't much difference. Bladders on a Baron are a bitch and there is nothing inexpensive about the fix. A complete reseal of a wet wing on a Mooney or Aerostar is pretty much the financial equivalent. IN MY EXPERIENCE.

Your comments about over filling and letting an A* sit outside with full tanks are correct but just as correct for any wet wing aircraft. It applies to bladders as well. Any tank filled to capacity will be subject to the expansion of warming fuel and can be damaged; bladders included. I will add that I have fixed one leak on the Aerostar and it was in the absolute most inaccessible point of the structure. If memory serves me correctly, it was less than $600.

My point is that it is simply a maintenance item: not an "issue" with the airplane.

There is a positive side to the "art" of filling the Aerostar's wet wings: it makes YOU, the pilot, have to monitor the procedure which should be the case with every airplane anyway. Don't let anyone ever fuel your airplane without your being present.

I too love the A* and that is coming from someone who is simply not a "brand loyal" person. It will do what no other airplane in its class will do and do it better. Unfortunately, I have gotten to the point that I have almost zero use for it. I mostly fly it on Sundays shooting approaches and use the Cessna 180 for most of my needs. That being said, I will likely not sell it. It's not worth the trouble of dealing with the airplane talkers and wannabes that pretty much make up the twin buyers market these days. And when I do want to go somewhere, I go fast.

And for anyone interested in an Aerostar, please don't ask me to call. I do not want to "talk airplanes", I have better and more interesting things to do. Post your questions here and a plethora of experienced owners, including me, will be happy to answer: to a point. What airplane fits your "needs" is none of my concern or interest.

Not meaning to be rude, it's jus that the same old "squit" gets old.

Jgreen

Damn John, I can't disagree with a single thing you have said. On the contrary, I would like to emphasis everything that you have said. Nice job.
You have hit the nail on the head in just about every respect.

Tom,

I can still hear my grandmother say: "Even a fool says something right every now and then."

Wet wings AND bladders leak eventually. Fixing one or the other is a trade off: half dozen apples or a half dozen oranges. Problems for each come mostly from mis-management or abuse. It is a maintenance item that becomes a "talking" point for bargaining.

It is a pretty broad consensus with Mooney gurus that their leaks are from hard landings more often than not. I suspect the same is true for the A*.

Half ass fixing either is a mistake and will come back to haunt, every time.

My mechanic is a wet wing genius. He cut his teeth with his time in the air force and honed his "wet wing" skills keeping a Westwind Jet from dripping fuel. He says that, in his opinion, the Westwind is about the leakingist *#@!*#ard he's ever seen.

Enough said so I'll shut up.
Jgreen

I was doing a little internet searching this morning and found this older thread about Aerostars here on BT. There is a lot of good info on BT about the Aerostars. I think it’s a testament to the aircraft that to the best of my knowledge everyone that posted previously in this thread still flys an Aerostar and this thread is 7 plus years old.
As for 10 ft long arms … and hands the size of a newborn, I couldn’t agree more. I fabricated a tool earlier this week that allowed me to change out the valve springs on cylinders #5 & #6, as well as to “perform a wobble test” without removing the engine, on a Superstar II TIO-540-J2BD.

I only wish that I would have discovered the Aerostars 20 or 30 years ago.

Currently flying a 601P, a Superstar 700 & a Superstar II. I do plan to narrow that selection down to just one Aerostar, well … maybe two Aerostars & my A36 by this coming fall.

Thanks, Frank