Complete interior re-furbish

[Dale Campbell]

Hi Herb,
I to had the seal on the alternator in my front engine leaking. They fixed that and the push rod seals on my bird also were leaking. As for the gear hoses, my A&P purchased them from Cessna, because he said on that item Cessna price was close to after market price and he always got the right hoses. On other hoses he purchases after market. Good luck, Dale

[hharney]

Plastic panels? Are you referring to the interior? Those wonderful, high quality, decorative, fashionable luxury interior parts from Cessna? Stay tuned because we did not source any new plastic for this job, details coming.

Here is a start on the windshield. It was removed last night and actually was very easy to come out. Now if it just goes back in with a minimal amount of frustration I will be very pleased. I ordered all the glass yesterday and the company talked me into the grey tinted windshield. I know, several of you said not to go with the tint and stay with clear but my original was tinted and was just fine. This company sells all the glass to Cirrus, Mooney and Champion and all windshields are grey tint with solar control. Along with Piper and Cessna. I hope I am not disappointed but that's just what I did. The pilot and co-pilot windows are also grey tint and solar control and the rear are just grey tint because under the wing the solar control is not needed. I will probably drive to Flint Friday and pick up the whole window kit. They have the Cessna u-channel also.

Last night was another beautiful drive to Kzoo. 32 degrees and rain all the way down and then about 2 hours later it changed to snow with 29 degrees. The trip home at 11 PM was white knuckle. Well it's back down tonight to meet with the AI again. We'll start prepping the hull for the windows. Most everything is ready but around the windshield will still require some clean up. I have to remove the door window yet too. Trying to remove those little pins in the hinges has been a challenge. Once those items are finished we are ready for new glass all the way around.

After the windshield is out, the interior tech's will work on the glare shield to match the new interior. A lot easier to access this glare shield with the windshield out. The glare shield will be wrapped in leather or ultra suede to match the new components in re-upholstery process. I have seen some of the glare shields that Bill has done and they are really nice. Should be a big improvement.

I ordered the certified foam sound control insulation to go on the rear bulkhead and ceiling. I don't want to try to deal with the fiberglass garbage that Cessna used up in the headliner. It's going to be tedious to install but it's only time. (well money too, that stuff is expensive) I will use Pliobond (thanks GMAS for this) for adhering the foam to the interior skin. The patches that we have been discussing with the corrosion behind them, once removed and the corrosion treated with Alumaprep, Alodine and Chromate paint, a piece of the foam will be placed in that area to substitute for the linoleum patches that were there. They are not lead like some thought them to be but just a cheap linoleum (thanks Cessna) that contains salts and when the adhesive comes loose allows moisture to sneak in and ............. yep corrosion. The patches are there to keep the vibration down on the skin of the hull. Too much vibration and you could start to see fractures or cracks. The foam will absorb that vibration. So if you remove the patches make sure you replace it with something like the foam.

***Thanks to gmas for all the great ideas and tips***

Well that's about it for now, my second project is a Twinco with a gear motor issue. Love this unemployment stuff :-)

[stackj]

Herb,

Before you drill any holes in the new windshield, make sure you are using the special 4 flute bit. When I replaced my windshield 15 years ago, LP Aeroplastics made sure I knew I needed the special bit to drill for the thermometer.

I think the issue is that the regular 3 flute bits (which also have a different cutting edge angle) can cause the windshield to crack around the edge of the hole you are drilling.

[hharney]

Jim, yeah buddy on the drills. I to have had issues with drilling polycarbonate before. The company will provide (sell) me the bits that I need. Interesting enough they also will use a Unibit step drill for this material. I had never heard of this so I will find out more on this when I visit them on Friday.

More pictures were requested so here you go. The photos above are from my phone, not very good (I forgot the camera yesterday) so the owner of the place, Larry's Hanger, captured these fine photos for all you 337 addicts. Thanks Larry.

[hharney]

More photos from Larry at Larry's Custom Re-Furbishing Hanger. Hurry and schedule your project today, spaces are fill fast! That's Craig the Chief bottle washer (AI) on the project. We removed the door first, in doing so found the hinges a tad bit worn. Craig decided to look up the hinges for price and availability, one is around $200 but the other is like $2400 for just the door hinge!

[travis]

Hi, sorry to be so late with my comments... I haven’t had much time for the computer lately! I did my interior work when my plane was in the avionics shop. Those black patches need to come off and the glue needs to be removed! I used a plastic scraper for the big stuff, then went to work on the glue and corrosion with an angle grinder with skotchbrite disks. Then zincked the whole thing before installing insulation! In retrospect I would have somebody who is good with paint shoot the zinc on every thing made of metal then a clear coat on top to prevent peeling! Also the foam insulation is good stuff, but on the fire walls and maybe the roof over the front seats you should use leaded vinyl then foam. If you keep the double windows then you should have a pretty quiet plane! If you have questions about where to get TSO'd insulation at lower prices contact Ed Cabella at Flight Seating 817.338.1655 he did my upholstery work and I am very happy with it and what it cost.

I installed tinted windows on the sides and have slightly tinted windscreens and am very happy with the results, though the windows are pretty dark at night!

I also used Aero Enhancements glairshield lighting and had them make overlay pannels for all of my panels includeing vent surrounds and inbetween the throttle levers!

Good luck, Keep us posted



_travis

[hharney]

Here are a couple of photos that show the removed windshield and the trim cuts that were required when the original was installed. I don't understand why Cessna didn't just use holes here instead of cutting out slots. I wonder if they would have used holes they may have been able to eliminate the center strip (it is not really a true center post because the w/s is one piece) because the holes would secure the windshield to the cabin without the center strip. Must be a reason, Cessna is smarter than the average, right? That is the felt that is still on the edge of the w/s.

The inside center strip was really difficult to remove.

I am on Christmas Vacation, more to come next year :-)

[hharney]

Before Christmas break we started a couple projects; the BAS seat belt system and inspection of the fuel cells. I have a small stain under the right side aux that was due for some inspection. Because the aircraft is going to paint after the interior is complete it only made sense to tackle the fuel cell inspection now. I have some really good and friendly help from the owner of the facility. Thanks to all involved.

The photos below show the flap motor and gear mechanism. I thought I would shoot some pictures of this for reference if nothing else. The insulation that will be going back into the cabin is compared with the original Filter Glass that Cessna installed. I will be cutting and fitting the new approved foam for installation on the rear firewall and ceiling to start with. We will see how much time and money permits for the rest of the cabin. Where there was indication of corrosion behind the linoleum patches, the areas are being treated with Alumiprep and then rinsed with water. While the area is still wet I apply Alodine 1201 using a spray bottle and let it set in. Then rinse again with water and let it air dry overnight before treating the area with Zinc Chromate paint. Each area will be patched with the 1 inch foam to replace the original linoleum. The foam is attached with Pliobond adhesive. This is an approved adhesive that will not promote corrosion. The linoleum has salts in it, therefore when the Cessna adhesive allows moisture to migrate between the skin and the patch it corrodes. The patches are there for a purpose and that is why the foam will be the replacement item. These patches deaden the skin from vibrations that cause cracking in the skin. Thanks GMAS for the process just described. That's the trick, just takes a ton of time. Not really all that expensive for the supplies, just time, time, time. More insulation pictures to come later.

The other photos show the initial installation of the BAS restraint system for the pilots. The A/I is drilling the holes through the spar and roof to attach the shoulder belt nurse reel to the bracket provided by BAS. Again, because we are going to paint, we went ahead and buffed off the paint in the attachment areas for the BAS brackets. This was a little scary seeing a drill bit pushed through the spar and out the roof. I hope those holes are in the right place ;-) More BAS install photos to follow.

Well it's New Years Day and I think I'll hop in the Audi (Tammy's car) and take a visit to Larry's Hanger. It's been 19 days since I have seen my project. Stay tuned!

[hharney]

Photos described above

[skymstr02]

Originally Posted by hharney

I don't understand why Cessna didn't just use holes here instead of cutting out slots.

The slots are there to compensate for the expansion/contraction in the windshield. The acrylic plexiglass has a greater coeffecient than the surrounding structure. This assures that the windshield will not be under stress with temperature changes.

Originally Posted by hharney

I wonder if they would have used holes they may have been able to eliminate the center strip (it is not really a true center post because the w/s is one piece) because the holes would secure the windshield to the cabin without the center strip. Must be a reason, Cessna is smarter than the average, right?

Actually, that center post keeps the windshield from being sucked out, not to hold it in. The natural forces around the windshield tend to suck it out, not blow it in. This is from some engineering data that I saw at Cessna. This is why it is easy to throw something out of the hinged DV window.

[hharney]

Other windshields have holes that also allow expansion without the center strip. Like the C206, it is a single piece with no strip. If you had the holes at the top and pushed forward in a dive the w/s would not blow out, wouldn't it stay in place?

[skymstr02]

All Cessna installed windshields have the notches in the upper edge from the factory, not just the 337 series.

I'm guessing that this makes production faster, thus less expensive. Like I said earlier, if they had holes drilled, then the holes would have to be located, the windshield removed to enlarge the holes, and then re-installed, it there was enough edge distance from the enlarged holes to the edge of the material. If there wasn't enough edge distance, then that plexi would be scrap, and would have to start all over again.

I don't know what stresses there are on a 206 w/s vs a 337. What is the VNE on the P206/U206 airplanes? That could be a clue. Is a 337 wider, what is the surface area of the two windshields?

[hharney]

Here are some more photos of the BAS seat restraint system. Attaching the two brackets together provides the mounting for the shoulder belt reel. One more attachment through the roof is actually an access hole to tighten the bolts inside the spar and then the hole is plugged with a stainless fastener. BAS drawing provides a clear picture of the process for the brackets. Last picture is the fuel tank inspection on the right wing. Five photos is max per post.

[skymstr02]

You should have that wing supported when those stress plates are removed..I believe that is in the manual. You may tear the skin around the screw holes trying to get them realigned with the nut plates. The wings will droop with those stress plates removed and the wing not shored up.

I usually place a jack under the standard jack point and another outboard of the landing lights using a wood plank and some padding. This will support the wing.

[hharney]

Thanks for the tip, the service manual indicates to support the outer wing panel and tail boom.