BY TONY BINGELIS, 8509 GREENFLINT LANE. AUSTIN.
TEXAS 78759
HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT INTERIORS
ITH ALL THE new homebuilt,
ultralight and lightplane (ARV) de-
signs crowding into the homebuilt
scene I sometimes wonder if there
aren't more aircraft designers than
there are builders. Among the current
crop of favorite homebuilts are some
very nice designs. So nice that I wish
I could start building 3 or 4 of them
at one time. But, I assure you, one
homebuilt project at a time is plenty
for anyone.
All of those nice designs have
cockpits but who thinks of cockpit ac-
commodations when selecting a de-
sign to build? It is the aircraft's over-
all appearance that we get hooked on
initially. Then, predictably, our in-
terest will switch to the aircraft's
touted performance, but seldom does
the matter of cockpit size and interior
layout command much of our atten-
tion until sometime later. Of course,
there may be an exception to this
process, especially if the airplane
design is exceptionally small, or if
there just happens to be a prototype
before us that we are invited to climb
into and try on for size.
At any rate, no matter what selec-
tion process you follow in picking a
project, don't get completely taken in
by the beauty of a particular design
without first determining other es-
sentials, like the cockpit's ability to
accommodate you comfortably, for
example.
A good roomy cockpit should be
rated on a par with good looks and
good aerodynamic performance. If the
cockpit compartment is cramped or
poorly designed, you will become dis-
Parti
Basic Cockpit Accommodations
enchanted with your pride and joy
soon after it is completed. Avoid that
dismal prospect by giving early atten-
tion to the cockpit features that are
really important to you. If you are
already building and have never sat
in, or flown, a copy of the design, you
might well be wonderng how well
your cockpit will fit your require-
ments.
The Cockpit Area In General
I guess most any builder expects a
few surprises to crop up during the
construction of his project. But one
surprise that nobody expects or wants
is to learn that his cockpit is too small
for him, that it is difficult to get into
and that there is insufficient leg
room. Perhaps it is also too narrow for
his broad shoulders.
Insufficient headroom can become
a major irritant, too. But of course
there is a penalty to pay for generous
headroom and shoulder width accom-
modations in any cockpit and that is
profile drag. You should, therefore,
expect that cockpit space will ordinar-
ily be at a minimum consistent with
"average" comfort needs because pro-
file drag is usually reduced with a
reduction in profile area. Crowded or
not, all of your cockpit housing and
control functions will have to be made
to fit into the confines of the compart-
ment area set aside for the cockpit or
cabin.
Seating Accommodations
Before you undertake to install any
of the miscellaneous support systems
and equipment, you must decide
where to install the seat or seats. The
seat must be positioned and installed
to assure your comfort and efficiency
during the operation of your airplane.
This means that you will have to de-
termine the proper horizontal and
vertical position best suited to your
own physical configuration.
A cockpit designed or built espe-
cially for your own use need not have
an adjustable seat. That would only
involve a lot of unnecessary work and
extra weight. Just make sure that
you position the seat where you want
it before you build it into the struc-
ture.
If you intend to allow other pilots
to fly your airplane, or if you are
building a two seater, adjustable seats
and/or rudder pedals could be worth
installing. Any adjustable seat should
be of a simple design and must be
constructed and proof tested to your
satisfaction before installing it in the
aircraft. But remember this . . . if is
far easier to make the rudder pedals
adjustable than it is to engineer and
build a sliding seat installation. Be-
sides, a runaway seat on take-off
could be disasterous. That sort of
thing does happen, you know.
The structural design of the fuse-
lage exerts a big influence over what
you can or cannot do in locating the
seat. Often it must be bolted directly
to the cockpit floor (no legs) in order
to obtain the minimum headroom you
can get by with.
In most designs other than the low
wing type, the horizontal location of
the seat can be changed to a limited
SPORT AVIATION 49
extent. The reason you cannot alter
the seat location in many low wing
aircraft is because the front spar, typ- COCKPIT WIDTH
ically, cuts across the fuselage in the 24" MINIMUM

cockpit area. In small aircraft this

absolutely restricts the seat location. FIREWALL

The usual practice, in the past, has

been to plunk a plywood slab down FUSELAGE
CLEARANCE
over the spars to serve as a (butt l" (MIN)
numbing) seat. I'm happy to say that
most homebuilders have progressed
beyond this primitive solution, or at
least they aspire to install something
more comfortable. Present practice is RUDDER CABLE
to install a dished out base for the
seat bottom in the space between the CONTROL STICK-
two spars. As I recall, Mr. Pazmany, NEUTRAL POSITION
( CHECK FOR FULL
designer of the PL-1, PL-2 and the AILERON DEFLECTION)
popular PL-4, was one of the early
leaders in using this technique for
installing seats in all his designs.
An immovable seat leaves you with
one alternative for making leg room
adjustments - adjustable rudder ped-
als. That is you will have to modify MINIMUM
your rudder pedal connections so that ELBOW ROOM
they can be adjusted to position the 16."
pedal further forward or further back.
This will help obtain the proper leg SEAT BACK TILT
angles for both short and tall pilots.
The seat back is another important
part of the seating accommodation.
Its angle of tilt or slope can, in effect, AFT BULKHEAD
affect the amount of headroom and
the degree of comfort or discomfort
the pilot will have. Unfortunately, its
location, as well as its slope angle,
will be limited by the structural bulk-
PLAN VIEW
head directly behind the seat. This
bulkhead is most often positioned per-
pendicular to the thrust line or top
longeron. In order to increase the seat FIGURE 1
back tilt angle, the bottom portion of BASIC COCKPIT ACCOMMODATIONS
the seat back has to be moved forward (SINGLE SEAT)
several inches. This, of course, will
use up at least 6 inches of potential
leg room. Some aircraft designs can

High seats and lots of legroom. That's

the way they used to design airplanes . . .
even some homebuilts. Big doors
simplify getting in and out of this BD4.

50 JANUARY 1985

SINGLE STRIP
easily give up that amount of space
(mostly biplanes) while others simply
cannot.
Entry and Egress Considerations
Now, how about getting in and out?
Will your knees fit under the instru-
ment panel? They bend only in one
direction you know. If you're lucky,
you probably have already had the
opportunity of getting into and out of
the prototype and are familiar with
any shortcomings the cockpit design
might have in this regard. If so, you
can better anticipate the type of ad-
justments you may have to make, if
any. For example, the bottom of the
instrument panel might have to be
raised slightly or the panel moved
forward (away from you) to correct an
entry difficulty unique to your needs.
EXTENSION STRIPS -
MAKE OF 4130 STEEL (.050" OR AS NEEDED)
EITHER INSTALLATION O.K.
RUDDER CONTROL CABLE
FIGURE 2
MAKING RUDDER PEDALS
ADJUSTABLE
If you have to move the instrument
panel back to make room for gyro in-
struments between a front fuel tank
and the instrument panel, be careful
that you do not make it more difficult
to get into and out of the cockpit.
Anyone building a two seater
should also think about his passen-
ger's needs. Passengers are not, ordi-
narily, familiar with structural limi-
tations and could damage your
airplane or themselves if provision
is not provided for a dignified entry
and exit. A built-in handhold is a val-
uable aid and one that can be fitted
easily to most any windshield bow.
The provision for ease of entry or exit
under normal and emergency condi-
tions should not be compromised. I
don't think that is asking too much,
do you?
RUDDER CONTROL CABLE
Control Stick Dilemma?
After you have resolved the seat
location problem, you should turn
your attention to finding the best po-
sition for the control stick. I'm sure
that if you are building from plans,
the control column mounting
mechanism location is already estab-
lished and you are "stuck" with that
particular installation. Most of the
time the location will be just about
right. Sometimes, however, it may
place the control stick in an awkward
position, too far forward or aft for
comfort. Of course, slight changes in
the stick's neutral position can be
made by lengthening or shortening
the control cables (or elevator push-
pull tube). However, this causes the
control column to be slanted and may
SPORT AVIATION 51
The new way, not seats just a reclining
floor or cradle on which a cushion is
placed. Comfortable? Yes, but your legs
have to be poked into the opening under
the panel. Before you build you better try
these "Star Wars" designs on for size to
see if you like the accommodations. Bet-
ter check your shoe size too.
A center mounted radio and vertical con-
sole is no problem in a two seater, but it
could be in a single seater where the pilot
would, in effect, have to straddle it.
convey a false "neutral" sensation
through your hand. A better way to
make larger changes in the position-
ing of the control stick's neutral posi-
tion is by making and installing a
curved control column. A curved con-
trol stick will often eliminate or at
lease minimize this kind of problem.
It may also eliminate the problem of
your knees or legs getting in the way
and interfering when applying full
aileron.
It is well to remember that a short
control stick will increase control sen-
sitivity and a long one will reduce it.
However, don't make your control col-
umn so long that it just barely clears
the bottom of your instrument panel
because your knuckles won't.
52 JANUARY 1985
Rudder Pedal Placement
Try locating the rudder pedals so
that they permit your knees to be
slightly bent so as to form an appoxi-
mate 120° angle (no more than 155°)
between your upper and lower legs.
This will help you obtain full rudder
travel and will establish a comfort-
able position for your legs. At the
same time it will also give you the
best foot angle for easy brake applica-
tion.
The so-called "standard dimen-
sions" for the spacing between rudder
pedals is often impractical to achieve
in most homebuilts. For example, in
a single seat installation the rudder
pedal location to either side of the
centerline of the fuselage is deter-
mined more by where the control
cables are attached than by anything
else. If the rudder cables are routed
along the fuselage sides, the rudder
pedals cable attachment points will,
naturally, be close to the fuselage
sides. This may require the rudder
pedals to be spaced quite far apart in
a wide cockpit or quite close together
in a narrow cockpit. In an installation
where the cables are routed through
the center of the cockpit, the pedals
will probably have to be positioned
closer together, either side of the cen-
terline. Neither condition, however,
should create an uncomfortable situa-
tion for you. - , -. .....
 SEATBACK ANGLE
HEADROOM 2
INSTRUMENT PANEL CLEARANCE
(KNEES/CONTROL STICK/KNUCKLES)

^_ EYE_LEVEL_ __

CLEARANCE REAR BULKHEAD

FIREWALL

WING SPARS LIMIT

SEAT LOCATION I
48"
(minimum)

CONVENTIONAL COCKPIT LAYOUT

(LOW WING DESIGNS) 30°
HEADREST
BECOMES
FUEL CAPACITY REQUIRES LARGER REDUCED
MAY HAVE TO BE CANOPY FRONTAL
REDUCED AREA

LINE OF-c. SIGHT/

CONTOURED
,T
SIDE ^MOUNTED/
CONTROL STICK /
REDUCED r -xESSENTIAL AFT
FOOT ROOM BULKHEAD

FOOT ANGLE
CHANGE MAY
AFFECT BRAKE
APPLICATION

INCREASED COCKPIT SFfcCE

REQUIREMENT

ADVANCED CONCEPT COCKPIT LAYOUT

(TYPICAL)
FIGURE 3
FACTORS AFFECTING COCKPIT
ACCOMMODATIONS

SPORT AVIATION 53
This builder had to use a couple of curved
control sticks in order for them to be lo-
cated more comfortably and to clear the
instrument panel.
One feature that could create a poor
cockpit condition is a wide center con-
sole. So will an extension of the in-
strument panel all the way to the
cockpit floor. This is so because you
will have to straddle the thing when
you get in the airplane. Furthermore,
you will be forced to keep your knees
apart during the entire flight. The
inability to move your legs around
because of this hinderance may create
a most uncomfortable condition. In
addition, you may no longer be able
to clamp the control column between
your knees (poor boy wing leveler)
while handling your navigation
charts on flights into strange terri-
tory.
While on the subject of legs and
knees, be sure that there are rounded
smooth surfaces against which your
knees may be rested. Sharp corners
and unyielding structures can be tor-
turous on a cross country flight. Inci-
dentally, a center console is not ordi-
narily a problem in a side-by-side two
seater.
Engine Controls
Should you mount the throttle
quadrant on the left side, military
54 JANUARY 1985
style, don't make the mistake of locat-
ing it too high or too far aft in the
cockpit. If you do, you may find that
you won't be able to pull the throttle
all the way back because your elbow
hits the seat back or aft bulkhead. A
throttle positioned too high is tire-
some if you, like many a pilot, prefer
to keep your hand on it most of the
time.
Visual and Visibility Factors
Before making that final installa-
tion for the instrument panel take a
critical look at it. Is it too close to
view comfortably? Your eyes can see
more of it if the panel is not too close.
Are there sufficient areas of
windshield and windows to see
through? Areas free of large frames
and braces that might be cluttering
your field of vision? Of course, noth-
ing can be done about moving the
wings out of your line of sight, but in
the early cockpit layout stages other
potential hinderances can be
minimized.
For your own safety, good visibility
from the cockpit should never be sac-
rificed for the sake of esthetics. Super-
sloped windshields, even if distortion
free, aren't always as practical or as
aerodynamically effective as they
may appear.
Seat Belts and Shoulder Harnesses
Plenty has been written about seat
belts and shoulder harnesses and I
will only say here that they are ex-
tremely important, should be in-
stalled and must be anchored to solid
structure . . . not the seat.
Believe me, there is a tremendous
amount of difference in the safety,
size and arrangement of cockpits
among the many designs being of-
fered to potential builders so, if you
can possibly arrange it, fly it or at
least try it on for size before you start
to build it.
Need more information about
cockpits and cockpit design? See the
following back issues of SPORT AVI-
ATION;
• Sliding Seat Mechanisms - July
1983, page 56
• Cockpit Standardizing For
Homebuilts? - September 1979, page
35
• The Cockpit Mock-Up and How
To Use It - May 1976, page 60
• Crashworthiness and the Shoul-
der Harness - January 1974, page 59
 PORTPLANE BUILDER
HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT INTERIORS
Cockpit Conveniences and Refinements
fA STRIPPED-DOWN austere in-
terior, of course, enables you to have a
lighter, more agile airplane. It does not,
however, assure you of having the most
comfortable or the safest airplane.
In an attempt to keep weight down,
you might be tempted to deprive your-
self of some small creature comforts
that could add greater enjoyment to
your flying, often with little or no weight
penalty being incurred. Don't automati-
cally rule out all cockpit refinements,
not without good reason. Here are a
few examples of what I have in mind.
Each of these can be easily installed
and are guaranteed to make your time
aloft more enjoyable; a map pocket or
map case, glove compartment, arm
rests, headrest, heel scuff plates, sun
shade or visor, bubble canopy screen
or curtain, radio stack vent and hand-
holds to name a few of the more popular
items with most builders.
Of course, you may not want or be
able to incorporate all of these, let's call
them, refinements. However, do not
rule any of them out until you have read
a bit more about each. Let's start with
Handholds.
Handholds
It depends on your airplane design,
naturally, but there can be no argument
that almost any airplane should have
some sort of an aid to help you get in
and out of it.
A handhold mounted on the
windshield bow (frame) or a hand grip
built into the glareshield, particularly in
a side-by-side two seater, meets that
need and is a genuine cockpit conveni-
ence.
Your handhold could take any of sev-
eral simple forms depending primarily
upon the type of structure to which it will
be attached. Figure 1 illustrates a
couple of options. The January 1985
issue of SPORT AVIATION, illustrates
two more.
The dandiest convenience you can
have in any biplane has to be one of
those classic handholds built into the
top wing cut-out. Without it, pulling your-
self out of the cockpit invites the risk of
damage to plane and pilot. The weight
penalty? A few ounces.
Shall we go on? . . . . . . . .
26 FEBRUARY 1985
Part 2
It's Curtains For Bubble Canopies
A large bubble canopy, particularly
on a two seater, must certainly be the
airborne equivalent of a sweat shop.
The amount of solar heat it lets in must
be intensified by the curvature of the
large plastic bubble acting like a huge
magnifying glass. Although that conclu-
sion may not be scientifically accurate,
I am willing to believe it. Boy, does it
get hot in there!
Do you want quick relief? Mask and
paint an opaque band approximately
12 inches wide down the center of your
canopy bubble. Do this on the inside of
the Plexiglas using white paint. White is
the color to use to obtain the coolest
cabin temperatures, however miniscule
that difference might be.
Painting the canopy glass on the in-
side creates a better effect and also
affords protection for the paint from ex-
ternal abuse and chipping. A quick-dry-
ing enamel is my choice for the job.
Remember, lacquer thinners and other
volatile liquids can, in time, cause
Plexiglas to craze.
Another way to make shade in the
cockpit is by installing curtains. Figure
2 should put you on the right track if you
want to fabricate a simple installation
for your airplane.
If your canopy frame tubing is less
than %" in diameter, you might feel that
drilling those 3/ie" mounting holes for
the curtain rod installation will weaken
the canopy frame too much. I don't think
they would but, if you prefer, you can
instead, epoxy small rectangular wood
blocks butted up to the canopy frame.
With the small holes drilled into the
blocks instead of the canopy frame you
can still obtain the needed support for
the lightweight aluminum curtain rods
(W 2024 T3 aluminum tubing).
Select a plain, light colored, semi-
sheer curtain material. It will effectively
screen out the hot rays of the sun with-
out creating that closed-in feeling.
What makes this installation, or a
variation thereof, extra functional is that
you will be able to push the curtain back
to any intermediate position at will.
The weight penalty for this one
should be less than a pound unless you
have a very large canopy.
Radio Stack Cooling Vents
A single radio installed in your panel
does not require any particular ventila-
tion provision. It is a different matter,
though, when you have two or three
units installed one directly over the
other in what pilots refer to as their
"radio stack". Although aircraft radios
are now transistorized they still do
generate heat and do require some
form of cooling to minimize long term
deterioration of dielectrics and other
component parts.
It is unlikely that many of us will have
a large stack of radios so we need not
concern ourselves with electric fans and
similar cooling devices.
For the most part, all the cooling we
need is what we can obtain from the
flow of air through a vent or port located
directly over the radio stack.
A vent acts very much like a chimney
allowing the hot air to rise and leave the
radio compartment area. The incoming
air is cooler so the cooling cycle con-
tinues.
This builder really believes in handholds
. . . would you believe, 3 of them? They
do make it easier to get in and out from
either side.
 WINDSHIELD

SPACERS- .
[ALUMINUM 1/2 DIA.I

FIGURE I.

HANDHOLD LOCATIONS
(TYPICAL)

All that is needed for ventilating a

couple of radios is a small vent located
in the top of the glareshield (windshield
deck) directly over the radios. Small
individual louvers will also work as well.
Note: The ventilating louvers de- NOTE-
NYLON PULLEYS AMD
picted in Figure 3 were purchased at a SUCWS 00 NOT TURN
NEED NOT TUftN
paint supply store. A set of 9 of these
plastic ventilating louvers cost less than
$1.50. They are approximately one inch
long but the length can be cut to suit
your installation. Simply drill or cut a
one inch hole and press the louver in.
That's all there is to it. These can also
be used to serve as air outlet vents for
cabin ventilation. (Source: Many paint
stores or the manufacturer, Shur-Lone
Manufacturing Co., Inc., 80 W. Drullard
Ave., Lancaster, NY 14086 - Ventilating
Louvers SV-9.)
The time to install a radio cooling
vent or ventilating louvers is after you
have overlaid your glareshield but be-
fore the windshield is permanently in-
stalled. Otherwise, access will be diffi-
cult because the windshield will inter-
fere with your hole drilling and vent
installation efforts.
Whatever the type of opening you
provide for the ventilation air, the open-
ing should be protected to keep foreign
objects from falling into the radios
below.
If, because of the number of radios
stacked or because of an exceptionally
hot climate, you need more cooling air
consider installing ram air cooling. It is
easy enough to do.
Install a short length of tubing clamp-
ing it vertically to one side of the radio
installation. This will serve as a dis-
tributor for the ram air after you plug
one end and connect the other with
MINIMIZING EFFECT OF SOLAR HEAT INSIDE A BUBBLE CANOPY
ducting to a ram air source. The ram air
will then be ducted to the distributor
SPORT AVIATION 27
 Any homebuilt to be endowed with a
stack of radios should also be fitted with
a vent directly above to provide cool air
circulation thru the sets. Install your vent
before you permanently install the
windshield.

tube and from there spewed out over

the radios through strategically drilled
holes. If you find this hard to visualize
take a look at Figure 3 for instant clarifi-
cation.
If more cooling is required, you could
also install a similar distributor on the
PLYWOOD OR
IMINUM TRIM opposite side of the radio stack. A good
source for the ram air would be an
opening on the back engine baffle to
which you could attach the ducting. It
need not be larger than %" or so in
diameter.

Map Pocket? Map Case?

Call it what you will, every airplane
should have at least one. A place to
stow your navigation charts, log book
and pencil if nothing else. However,
map pockets being what they are, seem
to attract all kinds of stuff ranging from
magazines to sandwiches and used
drink cans. Yes sir, every airplane
needs someplace to stow things where
they are easily accessible to the pilot.
Your cockpit will be a safer place, a
PERFORATED -1/4" HOLES more attractive and comfortable place,
ALUMINUM OR PLASTIC TUBE
(5/8"WA.)
if that sort of clutter is hidden from view
RADIO STACK—
and secured.
RAM AIR SOURCE
If you want to see what a messy
cockpit looks like take a look in any
DUCTING cockpit that has maps and papers
COOLING AIR
wedged in behind tubular structure or
poked under the seat.
A map pocket eliminates that eyesore
because its gathered elastic opening
FIGURE 3.
does an excellent job of containing any-
thing poked into it. Anyone who is temp-
RADIO STACK COOLING OPTIONS ted to do an impromptu acrobatic ma-
neuver will be delighted with a map
pocket's capacity and ability to keep
everything inside where it belongs.
28 FEBRUARY 1985
The open glove compartment door shows
simple installation of the piano hinge and
the Hartwell latch. Compartment could, of
course, be provided without a door.
Map pockets take many forms and crop
up in many locations. This homebuilt has
one conveniently located on the door and
another behind the seats. The gathered
elastic openings help secure and contain
the contents during exuberant maneu-
Another kind of map case is shown here.
It takes advantage of a natural recess on
each side of the baggage area. It is easily
reached by the pilot and provides a con-
venient stowage place for the maps,
charts and log book. However, inverted
antics will allow the contents to be
spewed all over the cockpit.
You could, of course, build a regular
map case from metal or thin plywood
complete with a lid and fastener. That's
how they used to be. One of this type
would be all right in a biplane or in any
airplane with a welded steel tube or
metal fuselage where it could be se-
cured to the diagonals or uprights.
Somehow a map case, per se, might
look a bit out of place in a well furbished
interior. Besides, it is difficult to retrieve
small objects from the bottom of a hard
walled map case unless you have small
hands.
One of the photos shows how effec-
tively map pockets can be located. Note
that one is on the door (actually each
door) and the other behind the seat in
this BD-4. These locations seem to be
made to order to map pockets.
A Glove Compartment For Me?
What? No gloves? Well, wouldn't it
be a handy place to stow your aircraft
log book and papers, extra glasses (for
sun or seeing), note pad and pencils
and even navigational sectionals? The
location on the instrument panel is al-
ways easily accessible.
The instrument panel in a two sealer
(side-by-side) is made to order for the
installation of a glove compartment. Un-
less your airplane is to be highly in-
strumented and loaded with radios
there will always be a lot of unused
blank panel areas. Besides, you won't
have to spread out the instruments in
order to fill out the panel.
Tailor the size of the glove compart-
ment opening to the space available. It
should be at least 6 inches wide and
about 12 inches deep. A sectional chart
is smaller than that so any number of
them could also be accommodated.
You don't need to fabricate a heavy
structure for a glove compartment. A
thin plywood base and a cloth sleeve
closed on one end would serve just as
well. Here again the form that the in-
terior takes will depend on the structure
you have to work with.
Usually a glove compartment door
will be hinged on the bottom with a
piano hinge and secured with a Hartwell
fastener or latch. This results in a nice
flush installation. You can take this
basic arrangement one step further and
limit the door opening to 90° so as to
provide you with a small table to use in
flight. A place to put your coffee mug or
SPORT AVIATION 29
An armrest for each side and another
being developed for the center console
to provide a restful support for the throt-
tle arm. Luxurious but important cockpit
conveniences.
soft drink while you attend to your other
pilot duties.
Arm Rests
Arm rests are welcome accessories
in most any cockpit. An arm rest located
between the seats can reduce the effort
required to hold your arm extended to
reach a center mounted throttle. This
arm rest could be equally useful to the
co-pilot. Add an arm rest on either side
of the cockpit and you will really have it
all. During a long flight it is very nice to
be able to sort of raise yourself up on
the elbows and shift your weight around
to remove the numbing load from your
you-know-what. Even a brief exercise
such as that will help rest and refresh
your body.
Although making and installing an
arm rest is easy, it is a bit more difficult
to locate one properly. To be sure you
get yours in the best position, you
should wait until your seats are installed
so you can try various arrangements.
Heel Scuff Plates
These metal plates add a touch of
30 FEBRUARY 1985
elegance and are a very practical addi-
tion to any homebuilt regardless of
whether or not a carpet is installed. The
plates are intended to eliminate the
wear and tear your heels impose on the
floor.
Make the scuff plates of aluminum
sheet about .040" thick and measuring
about 4 inches by 6 inches. Locate
them at the rudder pedals so that when
your feet are positioned normally your
heels will center on the aluminum heel
scuff plates. Of course, you can make
the plates larger or smaller to suit your
personal requirements. Secure them
through the carpet to the floor with small
sheet metal screws, one in each corner.
However, be sure that there are no
wires, hydraulic lines or fuel lines in the
area beneath. If the use of screws is out
of the question, you may be able to
immobilize the plates on the carpeting
with Silicone adhesive or Pliobond.
Headrests
Headrests are almost mandatory in
many of the current crop of low profile
plastic planes. The reclining seats in
these "star wars" advanced concept de-
signs can give you one sore neck with-
out some sort of support.
Fortunately, fabricating and installing
a headrest is no more difficult than an
arm rest, particularly in this type of air-
craft. More difficult is the installation of
a headrest in an airplane fitted with con-
ventional seats. Most of these seats
are not very tall and the headrest has
to project well above the seat back in
order to be functional. This type of
headrest is hardly worth the effort and
you could well do without one.
Sunshades and Visors
You have them in your auto so why
not in your airplane? A variety of
shaded plastic visors are stocked by
many automotive shops and discount
stores. Look for a lightweight design
without a frame. Figuring out how to
mount it may be difficult without restrict-
ing its. degree of adjustment. Be sure to
locate it where you can obtain the best
windshield coverage and still be able to
flip it up out of your way.
Satisfied with the installation? Now
you can flip it down and fly off into the
setting sun without squinting . . . just
like in the movies.
If you wish to contact the author for
additional information, please write to
Tony Bingelis, 8509 Greenflint Lane,
Austin, TX 78759.
You "star wars builders" of advanced
concept aircraft might as well go ahead
and install headrests for your reclining
cockpit couches. They are relatively easy
to make and are essential for your com-
fort.