Interior Upholstery

[kurtsnyder]

Bruce Yaeger has just been approved for his "Spatial Interior Panels" and is getting ready for installations. Browse here for contact info.

 

Bruce spent years completely redesigning the interior panels to make them yield more room in the cockpit, hence the name, as well as making them easy to remove; i.e., no more screws.

 

His test aircraft was an E and it is absolutely beautiful. He also has redesigned seats that give greater comfort and more room.

 

Worth checking in to before a major rework of the Royalite.

 

Here's a link (in Mooneyspace) with pictures of the installed panels.

Any idea on what kind of prices we're talking for new panels?

[bonal]

I'm not sure of the technology but has any one looked into 3D printing seems like you could reproduce any of the pieces I'm sure the material would be strong enough since they claim to be able to print an operational gun with it.

[nels]

One other comment on the plastic panels: don't be afraid to use a heat gun to heat up those puckered or deformed spots and press them back into their original shape.

[isaacpr7]

One other comment on the plastic panels: don't be afraid to use a heat gun to heat up those puckered or deformed spots and press them back into their original shape.

Awesome. I will be doing that to the panel before I begin to use it as a mold that I will use to lay fiberglass onto. Today, I started by removing all of the panels except those in the ceiling. Some of the panels were so frail I had to handle them as an archeological artefact. I will be posting pictures of the process soon

[nels]

PM sent

[isaacpr7]

Any idea on what kind of prices we're talking for new panels?

I know the lower panel on the pilot side is 500 dollars at planeplastics.com

I could only imagine how much this new type would cost.

[isaacpr7]

So I found an ebay vendor who sells a fire self extinguishing resin and it is supposed to be cheaper than anything you could find anywhere else for that type of products. I called the company and spoke to the owner who immediately quoted the FARs and stated that his product would be in compliance. He will send me a sample for my review but here is a video for his product:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j825W1GWKws

 

He claims to be in business for 20 years but just recently started to sell to individual customers from what I understand. More to follow once I test the sample product myself

[mike_elliott]

Any idea on what kind of prices we're talking for new panels?

 

Bruce will be showing and talking about his new spatial interior at the Mooney Summit. I, for one, am really looking forward to hearing more, as it looks fantastic. What a great way to fall back in love with your aluminum mistress by giving her a much needed face lift!

[isaacpr7]

I'm currently refurbishing my '66 M20E. Regarding repairing the plastics, I previously re-did a set of C172N plastics by removing, cleaning with soap and water, repairing the cracks with fiberglass mesh and resin, priming with SEM Sand Free (clear coat that helps the final paint stick better), then SEM spray paint to match color. That all worked well and the parts turned out looking brand new. In my Mooney, I'm doing it all the same, EXCEPT I'm using plastic repair chips and MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) from the hardware store instead of resin. I got my chips in a simple kit from vantageplaneplastics.com, but you could also get a bag from http://www.buyplaneparts.com/abs-plastic-repair-chips-1-lb-10-02-80a/. Once the repairs are made, I can repaint or cover with the materials of my choice--vinyl and fabric.

 

I don't have before/after photos yet, but you can see some of the stuff I'm working on at my blog: http://n2690w.blogspot.com/

 

Good luck,

 

David

Austin, Tx

N2690W

David,

 

I have been looking at your blog for progress so that I may pick your brain on some ideas for the interior. I have currently removed all of the interior plastics so that I can start working on those; however, I cannot figure out to remove the overhead plastic circular vents. Any ideas you can throw my way? Thanks in advance.

[isaacpr7]

Does anyone have insight on what needs to happen in order to replace the overhead vents with the eyeball type vents? I found these at the Spruce but I don't know how difficult it would be to modify the overhead in order to use these:

 

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ap/vents_eyeball.html?sort=P

[Bob_Belville]

It would seem to be that it would be a big deal to make the plastic headliner look good since it has the large circles molded into it. Mounting the eyeball into the duct would not be bad. 

[AmigOne]

Notwithstanding the amount of metal work needed to adapt and secure the eyeball vents to the existing duct work, what would you do about the overhead plastic part?. The round vents are not good and if anybody has a a practical idea how to modify them, I'd like to know.

[fantom]

It is indeed a bitch of a job, as has been posted somewhere in the distant past.

[jetdriven]

Does anyone have insight on what needs to happen in order to replace the overhead vents with the eyeball type vents? I found these at the Spruce but I don't know how difficult it would be to modify the overhead in order to use these:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ap/vents_eyeball.html?sort=P

I would use the 1.75" Steinair vents and someone over on VAF mentioned the Airkits vents as well. http://www.airkitllc.com/products.php

there is also a louvered vent that is larger and may fill that hole in the headliner plastic a bit better, and provide higher air flow.

Edited, the euro is a 3.9" OD vent with a 3" air hole. http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/vent-louvered-3-black-euro-w-2-adj-louvers-177061-/4,35649.html

[isaacpr7]

I would use the 1.75" Steinair vents and someone over on VAF mentioned the Airkits vents as well.  http://www.airkitllc.com/products.php

 

there is also a louvered vent that is larger and may fill that hole in the headliner plastic a bit better, and provide higher air flow. http://www.heatercraft.com/louver-sonora-black/

jetdriven,

 

Thanks for that source. I really like that vent and considering the fact that it might even fill the current hole I don't think it would be too hard to have it installed.

[AmigOne]

I believe that when you remove the existing set up you will realize that it is not as easy as you think, at least easy to end up with a nice "finished look". In any case I'm sure that everybody will be very interested in learning from your experience if you decide to go ahead and do it. Please take lots of pictures.

[N201MKTurbo]

I acquired 4 of these:

 

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/airVentEyeBall3.php

 

Along with the matching light fixtures and push button switches from a salvaged King Air a few years back on EBAY for ridiculously cheap ($30 for the whole lot).

 

I’ve been putting off installing them for lack of ambition. I'm very anxious to hear about your experience.

[jetdriven]

jetdrive,

Thanks for that source. I really like that vent and considering the fact that it might even fill the current hole I don't think it would be too hard to have it installed.

If you install those vents into a smal round piece of .032 aluminum and rivet it to cover the hole in the plenum it might not look bad. The depth may be a problem, its shallow behind that Vent. Then get some foam or bondo and make a mold for a fiberglass part to make a smooth transition from the headliner plastic to the edge of the vent. Carbon fiber would look really cool

[isaacpr7]

I believe that when you remove the existing set up you will realize that it is not as easy as you think, at least easy to end up with a nice "finished look". In any case I'm sure that everybody will be very interested in learning from your experience if you decide to go ahead and do it. Please take lots of pictures.

Will do AmigOne. I have not decided if I am going to do this yet. I am hoping for more input from fellow mooniacs before I go ahead with this. If I do go through with it I will take many pics for everyone to see.

[isaacpr7]

If you install those vents into a smal round piece of .032 aluminum and rivet it to cover the hole in the plenum it might not look bad. The depth may be a problem, its shallow behind that Vent. Then get some foam or bondo and make a mold for a fiberglass part to make a smooth transition from the headliner plastic to the edge of the vent. Carbon fiber would look really cool

Great input jetdriven As a matter of fact I am waiting for the fire retardant resin I purchased so that I can start working on the panels.

[jetdriven]

You can mix antimony trioxide 5% by weight to make regular epoxy fire retardant but how fire retardant you think that ABS plastic that makes the interior is?

[isaacpr7]

You can mix antimony trioxide 5% by weight to make regular epoxy fire retardant but how fire retardant you think that ABS plastic that makes the interior is?

Jetdriven,

I like your suggestion; however, this company charges for their resins way cheaper than what other companies are charging for their regular products. You should check them out on ebay. They are listed as polymerproduct; however, they do not have their FRE line listed yet, which is the fire retardant epoxy. I'd rather let a chemist do the mixing for me if he is going to be that cost effective. He is also sending me free samples of fiberglass (1 yard each). They are supper friendly people and also sent me a free sample of the resin before I committed to the purchase.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[scottfromiowa]

I acquired 4 of these:

 

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/airVentEyeBall3.php

 

Along with the matching light fixtures and push button switches from a salvaged King Air a few years back on EBAY for ridiculously cheap ($30 for the whole lot).

 

I’ve been putting off installing them for lack of ambition. I'm very anxious to hear about your experience.

I have one of these vents I would gladly donate to someones project. Not going to use it for anything.

[scottfromiowa]

Anyone added a right co-pilot ram air vent? I have hardware, but my A&P always puts off doing the install at annual...if anybody can fab the area that mates with the uneven airvent/ram-air I will pay for the part to get him to "move on this project". I really value the knee ram-air vent and want this installed. Scott

[jetdriven]

I have one of these vents I would gladly donate to someones project. Not going to use it for anything.

I could use it

And do you have a picture of the hardware for the copilot eyeball vent, if I recall, it's a special piece unique to Mooneys.