Bed Lined Parts

I'm almost finished with the bed lining of parts. I have to add a second coat to a couple pieces and I'm still working on fabricating the two side seat panels. Those panels will need to be primed and bed lined also so I'm going to wait until they're ready for bed liner to do them all at once.

Anyway, I put the floorboards in with the tunnels attached (loosely) for a test fit. One of the pieces that needs another coat is the access door on the rear bulkhead, that is why it's not mounted.

I also test fit the under seat storage pans. Notice the headset jack access in the outside corner of each pan. I installed both styles of jacks, the black one is the Bose LEMO jack with power, and the other two are the regular aviation headset jacks. Although I have Bose headsets and will use the LEMO jack, I thought it prudent to build in the other jacks just in case.

The fuel selector plate.

 ...with locking mechanism for the tail wheel and the fuel selector valve installed.

Finally, here are the seats.

Overall I am very pleased with the outcome. A lot of work to get here but I think it looks really nice and should be a snap to keep clean. Back to work...

Bed liner on Floorboards

Shot the bed liner on the floorboards and the inside of the cargo door today. Scuffed everything up, wiped them down and into the booth. The Raptor bed liner was easy to shoot, I started at about 80psi and liked the texture so I stayed with it for all the pieces. That is some messy stuff though, thank god for the paint booth. It sticks to everything like tar. Since you shoot it at a distance, about 18 inches from the piece, it is like a scatter gun. The paint booth floor is now black and will need to dry before I can use it again. After a couple of pieces, my shoes were sticking to the drop cloth and it started to become a real pain in the a$$ by the time I finished.

I did one piece at a time to avoid over spraying so it took a little time. I cleared off my covering table and since I was only spraying one side of each piece I was able to lay the finished pieces on the table as I went. Unlike Line-x bed liner which dries in seconds, this will take a couple of days to cure. I want to be absolutely sure they're cured before trying to handle them. I'm really happy with the way they turned out. They should look great when installed.

Unfortunately, I forgot the tunnels so I still have them to do. However, I was thinking about doing the under seat storage trays, now I'm sure I'll do them.

Floorboards

One last test fit before coating with Raptor bed liner. I had not had these in since I made them many months ago. Certainly not since I covered the interior. I needed to make sure there was clearance from sides so there is no rubbing. I did have to trim the two front boards on the outside about a 16th of an inch. I also opened up the screw holes to the next size bit to allow for some movement in positioning. The fuel line openings are good as is the drain openings.

I didn't put the tunnel pieces in as nothing changed with them. Even though I trimmed the outside edges the positions of the boards did not change.

Everything checks out. Next up, Raptor...

Priming Small Parts

Spent the last week getting a lot of pieces ready for primer. Had to make a new rear floorboard, a new fuel valve plate, a redo on my fuel lines, new side covers (next to seats), new fuel fittings. Got the paint booth set back up this morning and started priming. I had a bunch of parts lined up to paint: all the floorboards (5), rear baggage bulkhead pieces (3), elevator control tunnels (2), fuel valve plate (1). seat bottoms and backs (4), elevator fences (2), and some hinges.

Tomorrow I'll primer the ailerons, flaps, and wing tips.

Panel

Received the lexan test panel from SteinAir today. I had this done as a final test to make sure all my switches, etc. fit before having the real panel CNC'd. Good thing as there are a few measurements that were slightly off. The main one was the center group of switches, the hole was a tad too small and I cracked the lexan forcing them in to the hole. No biggie, that what it was for. Other than that, the key switch hole was too large, although it fits there is room for wobble and the dimmer switch holes are too close together which will not allow both dimmers to be mounted side by side. I did not have the 12v socket or the extra dimmer switch on hand.

However, everything else fit perfectly and I think the panel is finished. I'll send the corrected measurements off and get the real panel cut. I think it came out fantastic and can't wait to get the real thing in so I can start mounting everything.

Interior Covering Finished

I did the final heat shrink and applied all the doilies and tapes to the right front. I also re-installed my rudder cables.

This completes the interior covering, now on to the exterior.

Covering - Interior, Right Front

I began the day by finishing the left front. Installed the doilies and did the final shrink on it. Looks pretty good.

After completing that task I moved on to the right side. First thing is to prep the frame by scuffing with a scotch brite pad every where glue will go. Next, to clean with the Acetone solution and apply the first glue coat. I let that dry and then on with the second coat. Now, I was finally ready to start fitting the fabric. Just as I did with the left side, I started by locating and cutting a hole for the middle cable pass through. That pretty much centers the fabric and I work forward from there.

Got it all fitted and tacked down. I made the same patch for the two forward cuts but applied it before I put any heat on it. Worked much better on this side and will conceal the cuts much better.

 Tomorrow I'll do the final shrink, apply doilies and finishing tapes.

Covering - Interior, Left Front

Covered the left front interior today. This was the most difficult piece yet. A lot of cuts and things to go around. Just took my time and it came out ok.

Learned a few things, like using a piece of fabric as a backing for a couple of long cuts. The cuts were to allow the fabric to pass over some fuselage frame members. The backing helped hold the cuts together when the fabric shrinks. Otherwise, the fabric would just curl and present a real problem to fix. I learned this when applying the fabric to begin with and one of the cuts started to separate and curl. Had to step back and think about the situation for a few minutes. The backing fabric solved the issue.

I will final shrink and apply the finishing tapes and doilies on in the morning before starting on the right side. A pic of the doilies ready to go tomorrow.

I also wet sanded the spinner again and shot it with another three coats of clear. It's almost finished.

Covering - Interior, Left Rear Continued...

Finished the left rear interior piece today. Did the final shrink, cut and applied all the doilies. I'm still considering how I'm going to finish out the cargo door jamb area.

I started making a template for the complicated cuts for the front piece. I have to figure out how to join the two pieces in the least conspicuous manner. This template is just a quick way for me to get my head around all the cuts that have to be made.

I also applied the two coats of glue to both the front fabric pieces. They're ready to install once I get my game plan together...

Spinner

Yesterday, after wet sanding the spinner with 600 grit I put three coats of clear on it. Unfortunately, a couple of bugs found their way on to it before it dried. So, today I wet sanded the clear coats to remove all traces of the bugs and re-sprayed it. I'll let this cure and will probably put another couple of coats on it. Looks pretty good right now.

Covering - Interior, Left Rear

I tackled the left rear interior piece today. No surprises. I just took my time and it came out a little better than the right side did. I'll put the final shrink on it tomorrow and make up the doilies.