3003 vs 5052 aluminum tubing

Found a good picture today that shows the routing and supports for the main line.

Anyone know what the black sleeve is? I thought it might be heat shrink, but Chad says it is just vinyl tube. It is a tight fit, so seems like it would be very difficult to slip over the tubing, especially if bent.

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For my fuel line, I got some black vinyl tube at the hardware store, cut it into 3 segments and installed each segment over the fuel line using silicone spray. Worked just fine.
 
Now I'm questioning whether I've got 5052 for my old parts. I was able to easily bend the 1/2" line into the hoop below by hand without kinking it.
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OTOH, maybe whatever I had was too soft. Check out this abrasion I found from an adel clamp. And this was under the vinyl sleeve. It is at least 50% of the wall thickness.

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Picked up a bundle of 5052 from Aircraft Spruce today, including a 12 foot length of 1/2" tube. Had room for a 10 foot straight section in my car, so I bent the end. Was easy to bend by hand without kinking. Just had to be careful and work slow.
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all of my tubing in the new plane is the soft coiled tubing. if you look at the factory fuel lines they are all bent in place by hand.
 
Installed the half inch line last night. Turns out 5052 can be bent by hand too if you are careful. The routing of the main line from manifold to header tank is not a straight shot. In addition to 90 degree bends at each end, there are numerous small deviations necessary to avoid various structural obstacles, especially behind the control levers and trim plate.

I got a set of bending springs from Ace for $15. Those work just fine, as long as you do all bends before you flare the ends.

After getting in there, I see the need for the vinyl sleeve. There are a lot of chafe points and it's not really possible to route the tube or install standoffs everywhere where contact is possible. A particular problem area is the trim plate.

Photos to follow in a day or two once I get everything assembled. I was stressed about the fuel lines, but those are turning out to be fairly easy.
 
Does anyone have a source for the vinyl sleeve? I used heat shrink, but it is too soft.
 
What about thin wall rubber vacuum tubing? Slit it lengthwise, then pop it on. Or some of that rubberized tape?
 
the spec for the vinyl sleeve will lead you to one of the big online electronics distributors. not Mouser, the other one but then you have to buy a bulk amount. i just bought it from chad
 
Found vinyl sleeve on Amazon. Just had to use the right search terms. Vinyl cable sheathing did it.

Had some trouble finding rubber strips until I changed the search term to neoprene adhesive strips.
 
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