Aug 04, 2023     Panel glare shield - (8 hours) Category: C24 Seats+Fair

The plans call for cutting out the forward edge of the fuselage when fitting the forward canopy. That edge is to be used to make a glare shield for the instrument panel. My project arrived with the canopy installed and no glare shield piece. I built two different glare shields but don't like either one - I'll redo the instrument panel (now for G3X system) and come back to this issue.

  Apr 16, 2009     Arm Rests - (32 hours)       Category: C24 Seats+Fair

Chapter 24 step 4 - Armrests

2009-04-12 (1 hour): I decided to do something a little different than the plans for my arm rests. Others have complained about not having access to the hidden area here for maintenance purposes, so I decided to make a removable access panel (as others have done). To do this, I prepared the right-side top arm rest surface to fit around the stick and map pocket. I then 5-minute epoxied two small lips onto it. The first is at a 90-degree angle, and sits between the stick and instrument panel. This will support a vertical filler panel that goes from the arm rest down to the thigh support. The second is at a 45-degree angle from the stick back to the seat. This will eventually be sanded away, but for now forms a lip against which I did a BID layup. My plan is to sand away this section, then install quarter-turn fasteners on it to support an access panel. I'll put a matching lip along the fuselage wall to support the bottom of the panel.

Today I just made the right side because I want to fit it together and see how it works before I do the left to match.

04-16-2009 (1 hour): I now have the second layer of BID on the right side arm rest, and I was pleased enough with how it turned out that I started the left side as well. I did remove the foam under the lips I had made on the right side, so there's now a 3-BID lip for the fasteners. There's plenty of clearance around the torque tube.

2009-05-14 (2.00 hours): Added nut plates. I suppose I could have done this as part of the previous layup, but it was just easier to do it as a separate step. Today I floxed on nut plates along the arm rest edges to hold the side plates. I also put a 1 BID ply on top of them to keep them in place. Job done.

2011-09-11 (1.00 hours): Pilot's side installed. This has been hanging around for a while, never a priority - and it still really isn't, but I had some extra epoxy tonight and couldn't think of anything else to do with it so I made up some BID tapes and installed the pilot's side arm rest. (The copilot's was installed long ago.)

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but the arm rest isn't all one piece. It has an angled inside edge that stops about 2" down from the arm rest, with nut plates behind it. The nut plates are used to attach a trim piece. It only took an hour or two longer to fabricate it this way, and this makes it MUCH easier to service the controls underneath the surface because basically the entire side of the arm rest comes off. It's still plenty sturdy - the lip the trim piece attaches to is 4-BID and it makes the arm rest extremely stiff - and the trim piece will provide additional support once it's installed.

2023-07-12 (3 hours - PK build). A deviation from plans is a nice custom touch that costs time - but I'm glad to see the nut plates! Working on the lower skirting boards for the pilot and co-pilot, the first step was templates. I used foam board, cycling back and forth to the plane. The control stick throws are significant and I now need to discard and re-make the control stick covers to fit the new trim pieces. I also ordered the fabric I will use as covering - yellow vinyl in back and an upholstery fabric in front. $51 for the two remnants from fabric guru. This was another chance to pull out my Singer 6800C.... it was all about using the right non-stick foot and a super sharp leather needle. Add the right thread and it's more than half way to a solution.

2023-07-15 (6 hrs). For rear arm rest, per plans a 3" and 3.5" wide length of foam joined with micro. To have it removable, both 2 BID outer and 1 BID inner extened to form a lip of BID where the arm rest contacts the side wall, with G10/micarta inserts. 5 click bond studs on each side of fuse, slightly below the level of the top of the CS mini-bulkhead. BID drilled for the click bond stud, and outer face of arm rest drilled for access. Attached photo shows one arm rest curing the inner BID layer, the other pre-glassing. For front arm rest, made a lower skirting board, which will be drilled to match the nutplates in the installed arm rest. One bit of good news - the record heat lets the epoxy cure fast, allowing me to do 2 layups a day. And I again found that my 'tropical weight' epoxy outperforms anything from West Systems. Raka "#900 Medium Resin" + "#350 Non-Blushing Hardener".

2023-08-04. The hardest parts to fit were the upper fairings of the back seats. The angles are hard to fit, then hard to cover - see the photo with all the small bits trimmed from the original too-large parts. For the rear arm rests I added "No Step" patches. Also, in the front I added pockets, embroidered with a nicely detailed honey bee. (Never stop working!) Below the pockets are oval circles - those will be cut open for the seatbelts. I'm glad to have these done and stored away. I'll get the inspections done and then reinstall all these fairings.

  Aug 04, 2023     Cover for EZ nose lift - (6 hours)       Category: C24 Seats+Fair

Used foam board to make a box that fit just right. The box was covered with packing tape, then BID with reinforcing tape on the edges. After inspection I will make it secure against air leaks using aluminum HVAC tape (thanks to Andrew Anunson for the construction tip).

  Nov 29, 2020     Seat Belts - (46 hours)       Category: C24 Seats+Fair

Front Shoulder. The front seat belt mount points are birch plywood embedded in the foam, 1/16th aluminum under that, with a total of 7 (original 4 + plans revision 3) plies over the top. The work on the front shoulder points was done October 17-20 of 2005. The front seat has clearly visible hard points and it was straightforward to locate the nutplate and drill an appropriate hole through the top of the front shoulder support.

Front Lap. The front seat lap belt attach points were done 12/7/05. (See those entries.) The outside attach point are plywood hard points, aluminum angle, then 7 plies BID and uni, then drilled for bolts through the lower longeron. The front center attach is tubing in the seat back

Rear Shoulder. Set into the center section of the wing spar cap are the rear shoulder harness mounts, hardpoints made from spruce and embedded into the foam. Over the top of the hard points go 4 layers of unidirectional fiberglass layup. This was then reinforced with a plans change - add more plies. Here, both wing and center section spar were built by Dennis Oelmann and purchased by the prior builder. I energized a high lumen LED panel inside the spar and was able to see the wood inserts as shadowed areas. I confirmed this with a tap test - tap, tap goes the quarter, and you can "see it with your ears". The rear seat photos below are from another builder - Dennis did the work but failed to provide photos for the log. Dennis put the hard points at 7.25" and 12.75" from the center line. Plans locations are 5.25" and 12.5" from center line, while Aerocad spars use 5.5" and 14". I'll go ahead with the existing hardpoints, and modify if indicated. No nutplate - drill through the hard points and use an AN4 bolt to secure the belt hardware.

Rear lap. The outside attach point are plywood hard points, aluminum angle, then 7 plies of alternate BID and uni, then drilled for bolts through the lower longeron. The rear center attach is a 2" length of 20204 tubing is laid across the heat duct and covered with 7 plies uni and then 2 plies BID. After paint I drilled out the tube. Test fitting AN4 bolts I found AN4-32a was the length that fits the washers, seat belt end and lock nut.

Using auto racing belts. I ordered a set of new-in-box but out-of-date racing belts in a a 6-point configuration. 3" wide shoulder and lap belts, 2" leg loops. Blue that conveniently matches the upholstry fabric.
- The 6 points are lap, shoulder and crotch. After some trial and error, I'm going with 4-point, and not using the cratch straps.
- I'll install the rear belts for the certification, but most flying will be solor or 2-place with significant baggage capacity. I might make the rear lap belts only - lots of space between rear occupant and the back of the front seat. I have the parts ready to install if I change my mind.
- Auto racing belts are good for 24 months from date of maunfacture, while the same material in an aviation belt can be used until it fails to flex. The auto belts are assumed to live on a planet with 24/7 sunshine, while the aviation product lives in a world of perpetual darkness. It makes sense to change seat belts when changing hoses.
- I used a basting stich for the initial fit, then bought and learned how to use a sewing machine. There was a delay as I attempted to restore a Singer 237 (1960's), then a current model made the job doable. The formula for stiching seat belts uses the strength of the webbing, the strength of the thread and number of stiches per inch and inches of stitching. By using a triple stich with "overlock", the webbing is calculated to break (6000 lbs) before the stiches give way.

  Jul 01, 2020     seat cushions - (30 hours)       Category: C24 Seats+Fair

The seat panels alone are surprisingly comfortable - that's the right curve for me - but I need something that works for varying size people and, right now, I need some idea of how seat cushions will affect the leg spacing. I ended up with a thin hard cushion permanently attached to the panels, a removable thin cushion that I take in and out, and a set of removable standard cushions.

For sitting in the plane and thinking about panel layout I used a thin pad glued onto the fiberglass. The thin pad is "Anti-Fatigue Foam Mat", at Harbor Freight for $9 for 4 squares 2'x2'. With these seats being the plans 17" wide, an 18" wide cushion will just fit. For a removable layer on top of that I've used a Home Depot distributed Hampton Bay "sling chair cushion" in "chili stripe".

2/27/21 - 3/12/2021. Refining the cushions. For longer term use I made a set of removable standard cushions, as follows.

Front. Foam is 2" of medium density topped with 1" of memory foam, wrapped with two layers of polyester batting. The foam was a 24" x 48" block, which was sufficient for 2 seats and 2 backs. ($65 at Amazon.) The fabric is blue Olefin, made for outdoor upholstery - I bought a 5.25 yard remnant 54" wide and used 2 yards for the front seats. I like the ridges sewn into the cloth and hope that minimizes slipping. There is an auto seat heating panel under the fabric, both seat and backing, which will tie into a 12v switch on the panel, and join the "Cabin Accessories" circuit. The backing is fiberglass (2 layer BID + peel ply) cast to fit the seat and back of the front seats. I found that Velcro just won't stick to Olefin and the cushions slipped around like crazy. I re-assessed. I turned the seat plate into a foam-BID sandwich panel, with front and rear edges that hold the seat panel. I recast the seat back panel for a height matching the setting in the plane. I did the back panels first - on all 4 edges aluminum strip with Tinnerman clips, fabric wrapped around the strip, then short screws through the 2-BID backplate into the Tinnerman clips. Super light, but not much tension on the fabric. For the seat panels I echoed the plans seat pan, with a foam core sandwiched between 2 layers of BID. On both seat and back I used spray adhesive (3M #77) and for the seat I had foam structure I could use to hold staples. Seat back detail - the pilot side does a nice job of holding itself in place, while the co-pilot side has two pins that push into the seat back.

Rear. 2" medium density foam was cut to the panel size, then a diagonal cut taken at the front and back edge or top and bottom edge, for seat and back panels respectively. Wrapped in 2 layers of polyester batting, then the blue olefin fabric - 1 yard for the 4 panels. The fabric is secured with 3M #77, stapled also. The piano hinge were cut free from the back surface, so a small fabric tab covers the visible part of the hinge. The result looks spartan but is quite comfortable.

Heaters: I went with an automotive heating pad - . The heater is the white sheet shown in photo "seats2.png". For each of the 4 heating pads I routed the plug to the outside, where a handy disconnect meets a 2-pin plug. Both back and seat use a panel mounted rocker switch in the lower outside corner, with high and low settings. When off the draw is zero, at low heat the draw is 0.85A per seat, at high 2.70A per seat. Each side has stand alone wiring, with the switch firing a relay that handles the current draw. Each sides comes with a blade fuse at 10A, saying the manufacturer trusts the wire to that current. I don't have that trust and downsized the fuse to 5 amps. I have panel out for repainting. Once back in the plane I'll install the wiring and switches.

  Apr 09, 2009     Map Pockets - (3 hours)       Category: C24 Seats+Fair

Chapter 24 - Armrests, Seats & Fairings

I made these map pockets almost two years ago, but never installed them because I was waiting until the strakes were completed. I HAD however made the actual pockets, and they've been floating around the shop since then. I finally installed them today. I had to fiddle with their locations a bit to avoid interference with the control rods, which is why they look sort of lopsided, but they'll do.

  May 25, 2009     Thigh Supports & Rear Seats - (8.5 hours)       Category: C24 Seats+Fair

Chapter 24 - Armrests, Seats & Fairings

04-16-2009 (1 hour): I cut the panels for the front seat thigh rests, shaped them, and made their under-side layup. Not much to say - it was a quick job.

04-17-2009 (2 hours): Tonight I stopped by the hangar for a bit, and trimmed up yesterday's layup. I made the kerfs, taped up the thigh rest area, 5-minute epoxied the thigh rests in, then did the layup over the top. A bit of trimming tomorrow and this step is done!

04-18-2009 (0 hours): I tried removing the thigh supports this morning, but the layup hadn't cured enough to pop out without delaminating. I'll wait another day on this - no rush.

2009-05-21 (3.50 hours): Rear seats almost done. I had previously made the rear seat support panels as part of making the front seat sections. All I had to do today was glass them in their final curve. I did change one thing from the plans. They call for you to set the curve in the plane, then remove the supports and carve out the reinforcement area to do a 4-BID reinforcement. I set the curve on the bench, which let me carve this area out ahead of time. So I was able to do the main and reinforcement layups in one step. It looks a bit cleaner, not that anybody will EVER see it.

2009-05-25 (2.00 hours): More rear seats. This weekend I finished off the rear seat thigh and back supports. I prepared all of the hinges, then bent each hinge pin slightly so it wouldn't back out after it was installed. I then riveted each hinge to the respective attach tab. However, I did NOT install them in the plane yet. I'll save that for later for two reasons:

1) I'm doing a lot of work in this area and don't want the seats in the way. They're removable, but I also don't want to damage the hinges that get riveted to the floor.

2) When I was removing the thigh support from their curved form, I had a slight delamination at the top of each. I fixed it by working some epoxy into the gap with a brush, then making a flox corner right at the end of each support. I want to let this cure before I install them in the plane.

As I work, I'm trying to coat the edges of finished parts with micro to clean them up. I usually have a bit of micro left over from each step, and it takes very little to trim these edges. Hopefully this will save some time later.