Ercoupe 415C pilot reported he lost power on initial climb; but was able to return to the airport.

Narrative:

Approximately 40 seconds after takeoff; aircraft had a near-total loss of thrust. Landing ahead was not a good option because of ground obstructions; so I turned back to the departure runway; using the hand primer to get at least some fuel to the engine; and was able to safely glide back and land without incident. The cause was found to be an obstruction of the overhead fuel tank's vent hole. I had inadvertently covered it with electrical tape while trying to prevent a fuel leak from the tank's cap; which had been allowing minute amounts of fuel to emerge and mist over the forward portion of the windscreen; reducing forward visibility. When the tape was peeled back; a loud hiss was heard as air rushed into the tank. I am reporting this via ASRS because I caused the problem by making what amounted to an unauthorized change to the aircraft's fuel system. I am not an a&P; just a pilot. If my a&P had been present when I applied the tape; he would have told me to avoid covering the vent hole. I have since flown the airplane without further incident. I have ordered a replacement part and will use that.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Ercoupe 415C pilot reported he lost power on initial climb; but was able to return to the airport.

Narrative: Approximately 40 seconds after takeoff; aircraft had a near-total loss of thrust. Landing ahead was not a good option because of ground obstructions; so I turned back to the departure runway; using the hand primer to get at least some fuel to the engine; and was able to safely glide back and land without incident. The cause was found to be an obstruction of the overhead fuel tank's vent hole. I had inadvertently covered it with electrical tape while trying to prevent a fuel leak from the tank's cap; which had been allowing minute amounts of fuel to emerge and mist over the forward portion of the windscreen; reducing forward visibility. When the tape was peeled back; a loud hiss was heard as air rushed into the tank. I am reporting this via ASRS because I caused the problem by making what amounted to an unauthorized change to the aircraft's fuel system. I am not an A&P; just a pilot. If my A&P had been present when I applied the tape; he would have told me to avoid covering the vent hole. I have since flown the airplane without further incident. I have ordered a replacement part and will use that.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1388988
Time
Date	201609
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	VFR Route
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 33 Flight Crew Total 1800 Flight Crew Type 40
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy