Category Archives: Interior

Getting some fresh air

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The Aerosport interior panels have been sitting for some time with a little work done but nothing complete.  Now that the inner door frame is all filled in and sanded, it was time to make the final fit fixes to the panels and tidy up the interior.  I had made a mistake on the pilot side front panel so used some scrap from trimming the rear panel to create a patch.  With a little filler, it will be as good as new.  I also followed other’s lead and misdrilled a hole that required a fix, again not a huge issue.  It’s tough to fit all of these, as you don’t really know where they should line up with until you just dive in.  I trimmed them along the molded trim lines and took my time to sculpt a few areas where it meets the fuselage structure.  The hardest part was around the door frame / windshield pillar.  The right side was an easy fit fortunately, but the left side took some work.  I didn’t fill the cabin top in far enough down the pillar so I had to apply a filler block, epoxy, then SuperFil to finish it up.  Once the panels were located properly, I drilled the recommended mounting holes and installed nutplates on the fuselage.  I also drilled the pockets and cup holders onto the front panels.

The front Mountain High oxygen ports will be installed in the front panels using the relief in the port to hold them in place.  I measured 54 times and then cut twice, purposely leaving the cut too small the first time.  I did not want to ruin a panel by cutting a gaping hole.  While it’s a snug fit and not something I want to do a lot, the ports pop into the panels and look really clean.  I had to grind the thickness of the panel down a bit as it was too thick for the groove machined into the port case.  Unfortunately, my pace of work has increased and my pace of taking photos has decreased, so stay tuned for final install pics of these.

I followed the same method to install the rear seat panels and baggage area panels which went pretty smoothly.  Once I get the headliner all made up, I’ll go back and do some final trimming on the top edge of the rear and baggage panels to fit.  I also fit and drill the baggage door panel, although I won’t rivet it on until later in the finishing stages.  I tackled the rear vent install which was not nearly as difficult as I had feared.  I followed the install guide from Aerosport and got it all done in one evening’s work session.  I wound up using silicone to adhere the ducts to the inside of the fuselage skin since paint won’t hit them and it will allow a bit of flexibility to snap them on to the vent covers in the rear panels.  I also had to put a bit of SuperFil in a few areas to finish off the door frames.  All in all, very happy with the results and the cabin will look very nice once all painted and buttoned up.

With the sanding done on the inside and door seal area, it is time to get some things cleaned up before pressing on.  The entire shop, fuselage, and parts of the hardwood floors inside are covered in fiberglass dust from the preceding weeks of grinding and sanding.    I want to get it mostly dust free before moving onto the seatbelts and interior.  It was a beautiful day outside, so I took the opportunity to roll the fuse outside and start vacuuming.  I wound up using my air gun to blow most of the hard to reach areas out while simultaneously vacuuming the bulk of the dust out.  What a mess!  I repeated this twice and followed it by a final blow out to get everything I could.  I’ll go back and wipe the wires and everything down before closing anything up.

Once back in the “hangar” garage, I went to work on the seat belt brackets that I had machined from Mark Cooper’s design.  These have a long story of trying to convert files and design, but in the end I got a hold of the guy he had machine his and just ordered my own set.  Since I’m using inertial reels and a three point harness on all four seats, I only needed one shoulder bracket for each front seat.  A couple of weeks after placing the order, the brackets arrived and wow, are they nice!  The belts came from Seatbelt Planet after a custom order was placed.  I used the brackets as guides to drill mounting holes into the front seat frames.  I realized then that the bracket sewed onto the belt was sewed on the wrong side, with the offset not fitting into the mounting bracket.  A quick call to Seatbelt Planet and I had an RMA for them to rework the error.  Once back, the reel will mount to the aft spar with a plate and captive nut.  The belt will run behind the seat back through a small bracket to keep it in place and up through the shoulder bracket.  The seat covers will have an opening for the shoulder bracket.  Since I can simply unbolt the reel and webbing at two locations, seat removal will still be quick and easy.

I moved onto mounting the rear seat back frames from Aerosport which required removing the hinge half from the stock seat backs and installing them on the new backs.  Soon enough, I was ready to mount the rear belt brackets which are a bit different in design than the front.  They allow the belt to pass through them and keep it routed properly from the reel mount on the underside of the cross bar.  Since the same error was made on the rear belts, I sent them back as well.  Once I receive the corrected belts, I’ll mount the reels for the front and rear seats.  The seats are now just waiting on the belts to send off to Aerosport for covering.  The front seats will be upholstered with the seatbelts running inside of the seat cover, so I need the belts before I can send them off.

One note is the center section from Aerosport is too short. Andrew is going to replace that when I send in the seats for upholstery. That will cover the gap and hide the cross bar completely.

Back to heavy metal work

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One task that I want to document for others I forgot to mention is modifying the tunnel cover around the Control Approach rudder pedals.  The cable attach arms are relocated inside the tunnel so slots need to be cut for them to move freely in the cover.  I measured their arc and marked the tunnel cover where I wanted to split it into two pieces.  Before cutting, I marked and drilled a center plate to hold nut plates which will allow me to screw the two pieces back together.  It was a pretty simple modification as was cutting the slots for the arms in each piece.  Again, I’m trying to consider maintenance and access down the road as much as I can.

I also took the time to modify the seat rails since I got the Aerosport seat levers.  Others have described this mod and it makes removal of the seats a snap.  Step one is to remove the delrin guides from the seat bottoms and trim the first 1 ½” off followed by reinstalling them.  This allows the seat to be slide rearward on the rails and then tilted around the flap tube cover with the necessary clearance.  I then removed the aft rail stop and drilled through the rail into the plate below.  Installing nut plates below the plates lets you put bolts in place of the screw and nut on the stop.  Now, I can get to the bolts from the top down eliminating the need to reach under the seat plate to get the lock off, allowing the seat to slide freely rearward.  It all makes sense when you look at it.

I’m trying to knock out some little side tasks along the way now in the spare time.  I used some excess epoxy from a door filling session to install the front vent NACA scoops.  I drilled a few holes and used clecos to hold them in place while the flox cured overnight.  I don’t have proseal and didn’t want to use any silicone on the area since it will be painted.  With minimal flexing and a good scuffing on both surfaces, I am confident the epoxy will hold these just fine long term.  The scat tube will have a short run from there to the Aerosport vents that I installed in the instrument panel.

I also performed a quasi service bulletin from Sean at Plane Around.  When I received the lights from him for the overhead and doors, several had bad boards which he promptly replaced.  I got a call from him with an interesting finding.  He used a brass wire over a piece of foam to hold the LED boards inside the aluminum and plastic housing.  He found that in a few instances, the wire was touching the board and shorting out LEDs.  Awesome service!  He called and suggested using a different method such as silicone which is an easy solution.  I removed all of the installed lights and completed the rework after ensuring all LEDs checked good.  I took the opportunity to install the micro molex connectors on the remaining few assemblies as well.

Service bulletin complied with in accordance with published guidance, OPS check good!

And finally, another cleanup item to mention was the addition to the hangar family.  While she hasn’t been officially named, our new Best Tugs Alpha 2 arrived!  I ordered this at OSH last year to use on the DA-40 we fly now and for long term with the RV.  It cost a pretty chunk of change (plastic, let’s be honest) but man is it nice.  It will save my twice-operated on back for years to come and is really handy to maneuver the airplane around.  It took a bit of practice one afternoon but now it’s just like pushing a shopping cart!  I requested the smooth cover with the intention of having it painted by Jonathan to match the RV but didn’t realize the red anodizing was going to arrive.  Oh well, not the end of the world.

Coloring outside the lines

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Painting the inside of the cabin is much easier when the cabin top is removable, and with only a few items left to do before permanently installing the cabin top, I took the opportunity to put some color on the project. As mentioned earlier, the cabin interior will be a dark grey and black. I started by cleaning and prepping the tunnel walls and footwells. Most of this will be covered by the black carpet, but I wanted to make sure any areas not covered would be black. The SEM is really easy to work with and two nice coats provided plenty of coverage. I then used a low luster clear to help provide some further protection and sealant. I didn’t worry about overspray since the carpet will hide the imperfections.

The rest of the interior is the dark grey so I prepped again and sprayed the remaining parts of the cabin which will not be covered by Aerosport panels. I’m not a huge fan of painting because it’s so much prep work, but the results are rewarding. It’s nice to see a finished surface finally.

Sean also sent me his updated LED lights for the overhead so I got those wired up and installed using nutplates and the standard micro-Molex connectors. I really appreciate working with fellow builders as vendors because they provide great support. Upon receipt, there were a few LED boards that didn’t work properly. I gave him a quick text and new ones were on the way in a few days. He later did some troubleshooting and found out the wire used to secure the boards was shorting them out. So I pulled the wire and simply filled in the back with black silicone and had no other issues. The lights are great quality and very bright, providing a nice pattern of light. Night loading should be very easy with these on the overhead and in the doors.

As typical, the big moment of putting the cabin top on for good was somewhat anti-climatic! I am glad I won’t be Atlas-ing the thing on and off anymore, as that was getting a bit tiresome. It is secured with a ton of pop rivets on the rear and screws up front. The challenge to it, however, is setting the frame in a bed of flox all around the door areas. I had the Mrs. come out to help mix epoxy and spread it on the fuselage. Even with slow hardener, we were pushed for time getting it all mixed, applied evenly, and positioning the top on just right. I chose not to drill the screw holes yet and clecoing the cabin top was much quicker and easier at this point.

I cleaned up the remaining flox from inside and and put the rivets in. All in all, a bit stressful for us but a rewarding step seeing the canoe form finally disappear! The finish kit is coming next and I’m pretty pleased with the amount of progress I’m making this year.

Let’s talk color

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With the plans calling for painting the interior at this point, we needed to make some decisions about our color scheme for the cabin.  With the paint scheme already finished (yet to be revealed), we know the exterior will be a mix of black, white, silver, graphite, and an accent deep burnt orange.  We want the interior to resemble a luxury sedan but include a few splashes of accent color to lighten things up.  I already know I’ll be using the SEM rattle can Color Coat paint for the interior covered by the Top Coat low luster clear.  I sprayed a few test pieces and am really happy with the appearance and durability of the SEM.  Plus, it’s super easy to apply and doesn’t require special skills and or equipment.  It will be a tad more costly in the end, but on the big scale, it’s immeasurable.

I called Zac at Aerosport who sent the leather color sample board out.  I ordered the SEM color chart and used both to play around with combinations and choices that we liked.  A few back and forths, hos and hums, and a few nights to sleep on it later, we had our choice made.

The carpet will be all black with the panels and structure below the door sill painted Landau Black.  Above the door sill, we will use the Presidio on the remaining exposed surfaces.  All of the carbon fiber components will be simply cleared over with the same low luster clear coat.  The panel inserts will be the Landau Black. The headliner will be a medium gray.  The seats will be black leather with burnt orange accents.  We’ll be wrapping a few side panel inserts with the accent and black leather as other builders have done.  I’m hoping to integrate the orange in other small spots as well.

Color is a very unique decision based on each builder and it’s somewhat overwhelming at the possibilities.  Combined with not being able to see all materials in hand makes it a bit of a leap of faith.  Zac will be sending out actual samples of the colors and carbon fiber now that we have the colors narrowed down.  But I’m confident that the look will be what we are imagining and should make for a very luxurious and modern appearance inside the aircraft.

Hey, put your panels back on

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Quite a few evenings were spent on fitting, prepping, and finishing interior panels.  The rear seat bottoms were riveted on after mulling over anything that might need to be accessed under them.  Since I don’t have conduit running along the floor and already have the antenna doublers installed, I went ahead and secured the panels for good.  I’m starting to wish I had splurged or asked a friend for a pneumatic pop rivet gun.

There are quite a few panels on the interior to work through.  The tunnel covers, front seat pans, side panels, and cross bar panel were all fairly simple to prep and prime after drilling.  They required a lot of nutplates to be installed on the fuselage, a few of which are in really tight spots.  I ended up using a few blind rivets on the nutplates just because I couldn’t get a rivet gun / bucking bar or squeezer in the space.  I was fortunate enough to have a few guys at work make a custom bucking bar for one rivet near the baggage door frame which worked like a champ.  This whole section is somewhat of a tease, as you get all these panels finished and the cabin looks really nice until you read the plans and it tells you to set them all aside until the project is finished.

I’m also planning more detailed runs for wires and hoses since the time is right working with the panels.  I used a flexible edge grommet material to prepare for wires passing through lightening holes that are too large for snap bushings.  These will be for wires, pitot tubing, coax, and anything else that needs to run fore/aft.

In other news…

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Several months ago I made the difficult, but wise, decision to sell my propeller.  As beautiful as it looks hanging on the shop wall, I only purchased it because it was the exact prop I wanted and I got it at a good price.  The reality was it is due for an overhaul years before it ever turns on an engine and I could reallocate the funds better right now.  Comforting my decision was the fact I can purchase another prop, same design down to the paint, at any time.  It wasn’t something I had invested time or personalization in.  I’m happy that it will be on a finished project much sooner than I could have achieved and I didn’t lose any money on the whole thing.

On the project, I tackled the baggage door with relative ease, finishing it up in just a few evenings’ work.  It was an easy project and one that really gives a sense of accomplishment.  Several things to note, however, are to pay close attention to the hinge pin position and deciding if you want the door removable.  I purposefully positioned the hinge inboard to keep the protrusion subtle but in doing so, made it where the pin is not removable (or easily installed).  I realized this too late and had already drilled the holes.  Ed Krantz made his pins removable like the rear seat backs, but I decided that I just don’t have the need to remove the door and can live with the results.  I was luckily able to keep the hinge halves together and riveted to the door while slipping the whole assembly into the fuselage.  It turned out well and the door skin only needed a minor amount of finessing to lie flush with the fuse surround and produces a nice even gap all around.

Next up are the rear floor panels that fit very tightly.  When the plans say to put the manufactured head of the rivet on a certain side, they say it for a reason.  I had to wrestle the panels over two shop heads that would have been easier had I paid attention.  Van’s pays the builder to always think a few steps ahead and friendly reminds you if you don’t!  One change on the rear floor panels I made was to replace the AN470 rivets around the perimeter with LP4-3 rivets.  Bucking the AN470s was going to be a real pain and no doubt lead to issues with drilling a few out.  The front panels are all blind rivets, so I don’t think I’m breaking too many rules with this substitution.