The problem I see is that yes, the fuel tank will serve as a good ground
plane, but mounting the antenna this way will result in a horizontal
polarization of your signal. That is, the stuff that gets squirted out will
be vibrating to and fro rather than up and down. Everybody elses' radios
are expecting up and down and won't work too well with the to and fro.

How much is "too well"? That's why you stencil "experimental" on your
airframe. And no, I wouldn't put a ten watt transmitter into an antenna
close to and pointed at my head.

Jim



"Ernest Christley" wrote in message
...
JOHN L. WOLFE wrote:
Will the aluminum paint applied of a fabric plane preclude use of an
interior VHF antenna? Just a simple yes or no would be appreciated. JLW

I'm not at the point of installing antennae yet, but hope to be in the not
to distant future. My question is how well would a large (50gal) aluminum
fuel tank serve as a ground plane.

The DykeDelta's fuel tank is about 45" wide and sits across the longerons
just behind the back seat. Using the front of the tank, which forms a
'wall' behind the passengers head's, as the ground plane would tend to
concentrate the radiation pattern forward (yes/no?) My reservation is do
I really want a com antennae tip right behind my head.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."