Chapter 24: Seats, Arm Rests
I jumped back to Ch 24 once I had the Controls done for Ch 16 because I wanted to make the arm rests while I had the fuselage on it's side. Later when I complete the canopy/turtleback and get the spar mounted I'll be forced to work INSIDE the fuselage for this, which seemed to me to be less comfortable. You'll see I'm making portions of the armrests removable so I still have access for later work but will have all the components fitted, so when I get to the end, I can just assemble them into the fuselage and move to finishing... At least that's the plan.
Rear Arm Rests:
The rear arm rests were built according to plans and just fitted. This is not hard but it takes patience to get the fit well. A couple of things to note: - the control tube was a little more inboard at the aft end of the arm rest than I was expecting, which required a slight twist in the side panel to allow clearance for the bolt that connects to CS-122. I used weights and a support post (just like I did for the lower corner of the white panel in the forward arm rest) to get this proper twist, and once everything was floxed, the system is very solid. If I were doing this again, I would have cut the upper arm rest panel 3.5" wide instead of the 3" of the bearing support, which would have allowed for shaping the outboard edge to the fuselage, while allowing a slight curvature on the inside edge to maintain this clearance at the back. This may also have been caused by my working with a fuselage that was 2" wider than plans, so the angle of torque tube is slightly larger... At any rate, it's not a big deal. The arm rest looks good, and I think may be slightly more comfortable with <5 degree angle I put in the top panel back where your elbow would be. - I bonded in the top and side panels and though I built the sloping lower side panel, I stored it for now so I can retain access to the conduit area. |
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Seats: I've built up the thigh supports following the plans method and geometry (making a template from M12, M13 front and M15 rear). I ended up making the rear supports 1/2" shorter than plans since I believe I'll not have full sized people back there for very long and it better matched the foam material I had on hand. The shaping method is pretty cool (glass one side of the foam, cut the foam in strips to allow it to curve, then micro and glass the other side with it bent over the thigh support ribs). I decided to make the ribs and thigh panel one unit and rather than hinge it at the back, just secure it with bolts (2 through the instrument panel and one in the back into the floor. The reason I can do this is that I don't have the roll trim running under these thigh supports (see Ch 17 Trim). Anyway, I don't think I'm going to take them out often, and when I do, I'd like them all the way out and the floor clear. There are other pictures below that show the finished seat thigh supports front and back. |
Landing Brake Actuator Cover:
I'm part way through this. I've built the cover but not yet equipped it and the seat back for the removal screws. I've included one picture of how I designed mine with a little bit of angle to the top piece that's different from others... I'm not assuming mine's any better, I just thought I'd be a little creative with it. |
Center Console and Quadrant:
I'm part way through building this and have included a photo of the design. The quadrant and top will be removable. I'll get an updated photo in here when I finish curving the top piece and it's done... I'm just fitting this in when I'm not working on something else more significant... |
Aft Heat Duct Cover/Center Console:
I have built the foam up for this but not glassed the outside (inside is 1 UNI aligned on the long axis). Outside will be 2 BID per plans. See next section last photo for view of it.
I have built the foam up for this but not glassed the outside (inside is 1 UNI aligned on the long axis). Outside will be 2 BID per plans. See next section last photo for view of it.
Will continue here... last updated 3/17/16
Resuming work on Rear Center Console and Back Seat Backs
It's Feb 2017 and I'm getting close on finishing the strakes and center sump which is also the right rear thigh support. I built a larger right rear thigh support for this center sump and constructed it following the process used for the strake tanks, so I have an "extra" unused rear thigh support... All this is documented in Strakes II page. I've also decided at this point that I'd like to paint the interior before cluttering it up further with the wiring I'm going to do when I finish the Strakes, SO: - I spent time final fitting the after center console and glassing it's outer skin. I made this outer skin overlap down onto the heat duct and it will be attached with 4 x 8-32 screws (so it's removable). I have lots to do still under this center console with throttle cable etc. - I spent time re-fitting the arm rest lower panels and the landing brake actuator cover and making them also removable with 8-32 screws - I didn't like that deep corner in the forward floor to front seat back (thought it looked like a place for dirt and stuff to collect and hard to clean) so I made a small toe piece about 1" height from left over strake skin material and floxed/microed it in on both sides. - I generally cleaned up BID tape seams with micro and lots of sanding to get ready for this painting which is covered in the finishing/Interior page for Ch 25. - I also realized how much I used the front thigh supports as places to step and decided to reinforce the center regions of these with 2 more BID layers. - And I finally re-addressed my dislike for the rear seat backs as described below and some figures to the right. Rear Seat Backs. I think the rear seat backs from the plans are too small. I may not be carrying upholstery in the back all the time so I wanted the seat backs to also provide somewhat of a closure to the rear cockpit in that condition. So I took the original seat backs and mounted them in the floor with hinges as recommended and then took left over strake skin material (already glassed on one side) and made extensions to fill out the space between the center console and above the arm rests. Note that I also had my seat backs run up the the upper part of the spar rather than the lower part of the spar. This hides the spar openings, and I'm not planning to make close outs for them. It also makes the rear seats slightly more upright, which I think will be more comfortable for all but very large passengers, which don't fit well back there anyway. Since these backs are longer than plans, I also glassed on a stiffener of at least 2 inch wide 3/8" PVC with at least 2 BID layers on the aft face of each seat back when glassing on the lateral and vertical extensions, and another couple of BID on the front face of the seat backs. |
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