Brandontwalker

The interior and panel overhaul is in the books. I have some serious sweat equity in this one, but I believe it turned out great. I even repainted the wing walk. It was a fun project, but I am glad it is done. Now off to Miami and the Keys for the weekend. (Fruits of the labor) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The fuel pump worked great. It was a little slow, but was very straight forward and I just had to reach in the vent window and flip the master when it was time to change fuel cans.

In case anyone is in the market, I spotted 5 Blackhawk helicopters for sale. Everyone needs at least one of those. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did not take any pictures of the back side of the panels while in progress. The fiberglassing was fairly simple though. I cleaned the area to be fiberglassed with acetone. Acetone actually softens up the plastic and will form a weak bond of the cracks. This helps for the alignment of the cracks while laying glass over them. I generally keep a fair amount of glass mat around that I use for model airplanes (Hobbyking has the lowest prices on glass mat) and used three differing weights dependent upon what was being repaired. I use a very lightweight mat for the front side repairs to give them a smooth finish. I used chop (i.e., finely cut up mat) to fill in holes and laid mat over the top for a good finish. Bondo epoxy resin will do the trick.

I have just completed a panel upgrade and refresh of the interior. I looked at new plastics, but opted to refinish the old ones to save the $3,500+ that plane plastics wanted. The old panels were fiberglassed from the back side to repair and strengthen cracked and stressed areas. there were a couple of holes and larger cracks that were fiberglassed from the front as well. It is not perfect, but is a tremendous improvement. I also made some new side panels to compliment the new seats. A before and after picture follows:

I use oxygen from Airgas. A 250 cu. ft. cylinder exchange is less than $25 and will fill my portable tank around 8-10 times. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Brandon, Remove the engine cowls, remove the fuel line from the firewall fitting on the lower left side. Install a suitable hose to the fitting and use the boost pump to quickly empty the tank into a barrel etc. Do this out doors and be sure to ground everything. Clarence Thanks Clarence. Will this also allow me to drain the unusable fuel?

I need to completely drain my fuel tanks to calibrate a newly installed JPI 900. I realize this will entail removing the sump valves. However, the last time I removed a valve, the fuel flowed all over the underside of the wing. Last time was a quick swap of a leaking valve. This time I will need to collect the fuel being drained due to the quantity involved. Does anyone know how to do this in a manner in which the fuel can be recovered and without drenching the plane in fuel?

We will see how it works. I used weather stripping between the headliner and the plenum. The seal looks good.

Alright! Fess up! What did you do? Where did that come from? Sounds like a loaded questions. Your thoughts first. If this is something you purchased to retro in an F, I would love to know where you got it and your plans to install it. This is the original roof panel for my J. I fiberglassed over the vent openings and installed whisperflo vents from Spruce. All fiberglass was laid from the back side of the panel to give a finished appearance without having to use body filler. I used a 2" hole saw bit to cut the new openings in the fiberglass and mounted the vents from behind. I get my plane back from an avionics upgrade today and should get the panel put back in place today or tomorrow.

Is this the correct part number for a M20j?

What are the backdoor channels for v. 6.11? Is it anything that can be Dropbox'd? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hector, thanks for confirming I wasn't just imagining that for-sale post. Absolutely no hard feelings about you snapping them up. Do you recall if the seller got them from Plane Plastics? I can attest to the fact that plane plastics does not sell the vents.

Alright! Fess up! What did you do? Where did that come from? Sounds like a loaded questions. Your thoughts first.

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I'm going to check it out as soon as I get my plane back from the avionics shop (whenever that may be) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Brandon, I installed rear belts in my last E model. I made a bracket from 0.093" 4130 steel bent at 90 degrees. One leg picked up on the 2 1/4" bolts where the roll structure attaches to the tail cone in the baggage compartment. The other leg had a 1/4-28 anchor nut for connecting the shoulder belt anchor. It all fit behind the upholstery and only required a hole for the bolt to pass through. Clarence Very nice. Is my assumption correct that this is something you had to get field approval for?

We might be able to mount our ipads permanently into the dash or something, but I see a lot of placarding coming up. I only have front shoulder harnesses in my 77 J. Do you know if any rear shoulder harnesses are available for this model?

I also have the faux leather panel cover and would love to be able to lighten it up while doing the avionics update. How big of a job is this? Is this something that a PP can do per FAR relating to interior refurbishment?

See what part you need. I ordered a rebuild kit on some bad advice. I was going to hold on to it, but can part with it and save you some money if it's a match. Mine is the Bendix with start position. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have just removed all of the plastics from my 20J and will be refurbing the interior while it is getting an avionics upgrade. For those using PVC glue to fix cracks, do you use the PVC Primer too (just like putting together pvc pipes)? I bought some SEM epoxy for this job, but the chemical reaction aspect of the PVC glue with some fiberglass tape seems like a better idea. Also, this seems like a good time to replace all of the old, dull fasteners on the interior with new stainless steel ones. Anyone sourced those from somewhere other than Spruce? I'm thinking maybe Fastenal. I can't bring myself to spend $70 on a handful of interior screws. ($18 AMU on avionics and skimping on screws, officially in the CB club with this one)

Right now, my rear connections are on the floor between the rear passengers' feet. I have always been afraid that someone will step on the wires and break off the headset connections. I like this location a lot and am going to be moving my rear jacks in the next couple of weeks as part of an avionics overhaul. Is there any kind of quick disconnect for the audio/mic connections behind this panel so you can easily remove the panel for annuals/maintenance?

Pilot shop sells by the foot: http://www.pilotshop.com/catalog/appages/windlacedoorwelt.php?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=09-00281&gclid=COTHm7Ssj8sCFUo2gQod9P0HUw Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love Top Gun. Another must see: The Right Stuff Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk