The aft seat floors (also known as the ‘bit my butt will rest on’) needs to have the piano hinges fitted to it. I have read a lot about the positioning of these hinges left & right and how they can interfere with the other holes in the seat floor. I decided to start by laying everything out exactly as per the plans. Once I did that I found I didn’t have any issues with the holes or interference.
So, after quadruple checking, I went ahead and drilled the piano hinges to both floor pans. These hinges will allow the seat to pedal distance to be changed for different height people.
Once the prep work on the seat panel was done I started mounting the baggage panel so I could check the alignment of the holes I’d drilled.
Once the panels were installed both sides I decided to work on the tunnel cover next. This cover protects the push/pull tube.
Here is a wide shot of the baggage and aft and forward seat floors in place.
Next I wanted to work on the flap covers so I first installed the flap actuator arm just at the point where the baggage meets the back of the seats. There is a plastic block which supports the bearing that needs drilling and fixing in place.
Ditto on the sides – another plastic block each side for the flap actuator support. The cardboard is there to protect the paintwork during the installation, it’s not permanent.
With the arm in place I set about fabricating the forward cover support tube.
The hinge brackets and mouting plates for the flap motor itself.
And the aft support bracket for the aft support tube.
I like making parts from stock sheet or angle. It always fascinates me how something goes from just a piece of metal to an actual ‘part’.
That’s all for this week.