Progress has been slow, but steady. Every night I put in a little time. The last month has mostly been the fiddly bits in the interior. I finished covering the rear portion of the interior – the sides and strake storage areas. Nothing too difficult there. I have not yet figured out how I will finish the fuel sight gauges. I suspect I will make some sort of lighted enclosure around them.
I recovered the rear package shelf. I had covered it in carpet, but really was not happy with it. Because the grey upholstery is covering all other side walls, the carpet on the back just didn’t look right. So, I stripped off the carpet and re-covered it with foam and upholstery – much better.
I covered the front door panels as well. You might notice from the two door panels that the pilot side has a bit differently shaped opening. I’m a pretty tall guy (6’4″) with rather broad shoulders. When I put the door panel on and sat in the plane, I noticed that the top of the entry to the strake opening really dug into the outside of my upper arm. So, I smoothed out the transition into the strake opening and it significantly more comfortable. I suppose I could have done the same with the other side, but it was quite a bit of work. Hopefully my passengers are not as tall and wide!
Finally, I cut the carpet for the floors and had it edged by a local carpet store. They did an excellent job – it looks great. I’m not going to put the carpet down quite yet – I’ll probably wait until the plane is almost done.
