Armrest install guidance

[DXB]

Not long before I purchased my plane, someone replaced the interior with flat fabric-wrapped aluminum sheeting without any armrests (pix below).  I consider a pilot armrest to be more than just a luxury item since it contributes to accurate flying by providing hand stability on the control wheel.  Even the spartan, less than ergonomic cockpits in the old Mooneys seem to have included them. I really miss having one on longer flights, where I notice left shoulder fatigue.   

Not wanting to replace my entire side panels, I contacted Bruce Jaegar (Jaegaraviation.com), as I admired the clean simple interiors that he makes.  He took on the task of designing me low cost pilot and copilot armrests, consisting of an aluminum L bracket  and a piece of pine (see pic).  After cutting a slit in my panels, the vertical part of the bracket will be epoxy'd to the back of the panel, and the wood will be screwed to the horizontal part. 

I just put a lacquer finish on the wood and am getting ready to install.  Since I must slice into my side panels and fabric to do it, this seems like a "measure twice and cut once" type situation.  Thus I'd welcome any tips on positioning these things since I've never flown another Mooney other than my own.   The newer planes seem to have long armrests that angle up as they come forward to support the whole forearm with the hand on yoke.  I'm not sure this would work great in my plane, where the armrest will not be as integrated into the panel.  I'm thinking that installing it horizontally to serve as an elbow rest while hand-flying will be nearly as good, and it could still be a rest for the whole forearm in cruise with the autopilot on.  What would people suggest?

I'll post pix of the finished product eventually, assuming i don't totally screw this up. BTW Bruce Jaegar seems like a great guy - he took a lot of time and interest in helping me with this even though the return on his investment seems minimal.  I'd encourage anybody looking to refurbish their old interiors to contact him.

 

 

[Wakeup]

Following.  Mine is exactly the same and I would love an armrest.  

[rbridges]

show as many install pics as you can.  I'd like to see where it attaches.  I have armrests but they don't feel very sturdy.

[takair]

I had recently redone my side panel.  The arm rest was cracked.  Reinforced at and then added a cushion.  You can see a good general arrangement here .  I find it comfortable.  Let me know if you need dimensions.  Will be in Englishtown this weekend if you want to sit in it to see if it works for you.

[Yetti]

Pilot side: With the panels with arm rests there is a backing plate that a screw under the arm rest attaches to.  Then the arm rest pads are contact glued on....   I don't remember what the backing panel is, but there is a cage tube that goes up there.  Maybe Adel clamps hold the backing plate to the tubular structure.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2016 by Yetti

[Delta]

Do consider what could happen if you have to do a forced landing.   I used to have a similar armrest design, but became worried about getting poked on the rib if I had to put it down hard or if I hit something during the landing.   As a minimum, I would round the edges as much as possible.   

[HRM]

I am a huge fan of Bruce and have his "Spatial Interior" in my E. With his setup you choose where to mount the armrests. I spent some time deciding where to locate mine and am extremely happy that I did. Don't forget that you can angle them if desired. Mine are very customized to me 

I did not like the feel of the wood rests, even though I loved the look. I wound up covering mine with leather scraps from my seats and am a very happy Mooniac.

[Andy95W]

Nice work, Dev.  You'll be surprised at how much the armrest helps (if it's positioned in the right place) when you retract the Johnson bar gear- it helps me to "lock-in" how I hold the yoke without bobbling all around as I swing the gear.  My suggestion is to either mount it much like the factory side panels, or place it where it will help you the most with special consideration to gear retraction.

Can't wait to see the pictures!

[steingar]

You can have mine.  I'm too short to rest my arm on it, so it just pinches me to the side.  I plan on uninstalling mine soon.

[HRM]

Leather covered rests. Soooo.. comfy.

[DXB]

I am declaring the project a success! I did the copilot side first, where the panel is easy to remove entirely.  The fabric and underlying foam were  cut with blade and scissors.  The thin aluminum backing cut with heavy scissors.  After inserting the L bracket, screwing on the wood piece to the horizontal part held it in place just fine without any epoxy between the bracket and and aluminum panel.  It's not rock stable (only as solid as the interior panel ) but certainly functional and a huge improvement.  I was able to get the pilot side installed without removing the whole panel - instead just peeling back the top a bit.  I think that I got the copilot side's position perfect but accidentally made the pilot side 1 inch lower than I intended. I'm going to try it out as is for a while.  This will be easy to fix if needed  by adding a 1 inch low profile block, between the wood armrest and the horizontal part of the L bracket that supports it. The simple lacquer finish over the bare  pine matches my interior very well.

[carusoam]

Precision of a professor and skilled like a surgeon.  The Dentist did his in fine corinthean leather.

You guys are all real Mooney people!

Nice work!

Best regards,

-a-

[rbridges]

I think that's how mine is. It's held well to the panel but the panel has some give. 

[DXB]

1 minute ago, rbridges said:

I think that's how mine is. It's held well to the panel but the panel has some give. 

Update- on my pilot side there is a frame with vertical bars (not the tubular structure) supporting the aluminum panel.  I put two screws securing the panel to the vertical bars, just above the bracket for the armrest. This took all the mobility out of the armrest- it is now rock solid.

 

BTW - Bruce Jaegar had intended the vertical part of the bracket to be epoxied to the outer skin of the panel directly, but the vertical bars of the frame got in the way, and I didn't want to cut through them or the insulation.