Backcountry Pilot

[fly offline]

I'm a new member, so I apologize if this topic was previously discussed.

I've been considering stripping the (heavy) luxury interior of our Cessna 170 and going for a more "utility" type interior. I was thinking of painting the sides and roof and possibly using zolatone for the floor (as I have previously used it in an aerobatic aircraft with good results). If anyone has any photos of an interior similar to this I would appreciate any photos of the completed interior. Additionally, any feed back on problems associated with the removal of the side panels (passengers injured on sheet metal) would be appreciated.

[mtv offline]

Once you remove the interior panels, your interior is now actually the exterior. Anything you load in the plane that gets shoved in there may dent the metal, which will show up on the EXTERIOR.

Also, you are going to create a NOISY and COLD airplane. Those interior panels provide a lot of benefits besides cosmetics.

I'd consider fabricating new side panels from sheet metal or a material like Kydex, and try to keep it light but still have some interior. Just a thought. As to the floor, don't forget that carpet or rubber matting also serves to protect those floorboards. Dent/Ding or damage those and you'll be spending mega bucks to replace them.

What exactly are you trying to do with the plane? Maybe you need a 180?

MTV

[Mush offline]

I am in the middle of the long painful process of converting my skywagon's interior over to a "utility" or military cargo style look. I started by completely stripping the old interior. Next is the worst part, removing the sound deadening crap Cessna applied years ago. This takes day and days of dealing with messy chemicals. Next I primed everything with zinc phosphate primer, giving it the military look. I'm at the step of installing a sound proofing/insulating foam kit sold by Selkirk Aviation. This eliminates the issues MTV brought up. Selkirk even sells the foam kit for the extended baggage area which I installed as well. When completed it will look pretty hardcore. Oh yeah, don't forget the awesome cargo netting system from Mountain Wave Avaition. Keeps all your gear in the back where it belongs. I got the idea from Mike Perkins. Here is a picture of his 185 with what I call the "Perkins Mod".


I do have to warn you in advance, this is not a simple project. It is very time consuming. I'll PM you a link to Mike's website so you can see the full process.

Bill

[gbflyer offline]

I've seen a 185 painted with zolatone inside. It actually looked really good, I though. I've been temped to do the same. One consideration in removing interior is that the fuselage will now "sweat", so get ready for some drips, especially if you keep it outside.

Noisy? Cold? Most of the Cessna's (save for the 206 I have now) I've ever owned are anyway. Headsets and proper attire usually take care of that.

That insulation BW has in his pictures looks good, but it still gets moisture behind it if you live in rain country. Condensation, I guess. Good news is that it doesn't soak. I would not recommend gluing anything to the metal. No way to inspect for corrosion without ripping it off. I've seen the results of this first hand...not pretty.

gb

[jomac offline]

better to leave it cozy...not that much of a weight savings....better to turn up the POWER...!

[fly offline]

Thanks for the replies. I realize this sort of interior is not for everyone, and appreciate the feedback.

Here's a photo of my Interavia E3 interior after I shot the zolatone during its "Westernization". I was able to remove 90 pounds of unnecessary equipment and furnishings during the process. The side panels were not yet installed. This is what I had in mind for the interior of our Cessna.

[Tadpole offline]

I went and got an updated look at bushwagon's today and it's looking great. He has put TONS of hours into that....I put about 15 minutes helping him once He's not joking, that's alot of sweat, but it's awesome. I can't wait to see and ride in it once he finishes up. I think if I ever ended up owning a 180 or the like I would definitely have to take on that project myself.

[hotrod180 offline]

..... This is what I had in mind for the interior of our Cessna.

Tandem seating and stick controls in a 170, eh? Cool- just like a BirdDog!

[182 STOL driver offline]

Selkirk has a insulation package and that really tough fiberglass interior panels. Not sure if they have fiberglass interior for 170's . The insulation is great -charcoal black with stick on back. I used the insulation from aircraft spruce about 1/4 " thick all over the interior - seems quite enough . I have 1/4 inch windshield and it' blocks out some of the noise .Utility interior could be that indoor/outdoor carpet on insulation - I've seen it in several skydive birds.

[Tom offline]

Bushwagon, could you post the link? it would be interesting for all to see

thanks
Tom

[A185F offline]

Perkins here, as Bill noted, this can be a long project. I did this in the winter of 2007. Scope creep stretched the project into seat rails, glass, etc. This past winter I finished (no pictures of that yet) with new seats, refurbished panel, etc. I live in dry country so the plane never sweats. The foam is closed cell so it won't absorb any moisture. As far as weight goes, it got 15 pounds back on my empty weight on that project. I built up new seats this past winter and got back another 30 pounds (yes, I said 30). As far as noise goes, I think it quieter than the factory deluxe interior. Maybe that's the MT up front, who knows.

http://www.185ml.com/interior/mx2006/index.html

Here are the "new" seats that saved me major weight.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SkyWagonA185F/SeatProject?authkey=Gv1sRgCMeeuZiFivDRCg#

[Mush offline]

Note: The Selkirk foam kits do not have stick on backing. You have to glue in with 3M 1300L adhesive or come up with some other means of installing it.

As for weight savings, I lost just over 20lbs removing my interior. To me that is a decent ammount when trying to have a light backcountry machine.

[Rob offline]

As others have pointed out, be very careful about gluing foam on the inside. I suspect that if you have a very good coating of zinc chromate prior to glue, you will be OK, but don't even consider gluing to bare metal. My 180 was SAR in Rifle and was built utilitarian and light (no interior, no paint, etc..). It had foam glued everywhere inside and the corrosion that had started was not pretty. I am certain left unchecked it would have been a bad deal...

If you carefully mind what you put in the plane, you can have light and be comfy, and good looking too.

Those seats look great! I had mine redone by an outfit in Mesa, and they removed all the springs, skirts, and Cessna stuffing as well. In the end they weighed less, felt nicer, and looked tons better. A great place to save weight, if you need interior work!

Take care, Rob

BTW, BW I ended up painting it. Weighed it up front, and weighed it after. Only other additions / subtractions were an antenna removal and new plastic strut cuffs to replace the rubber bushings that are no longer made. And of course all new rubber... all told it cost me 32#s. Given that we are light weights, and fly 2 up at a max, I would do it again... Polished is pretty though

[hotrod180 offline]

I know a couple people who have got rid of the spring/wire apparatus that backs up the padding in Cessna seats, & skinned the seat frame in Ceconite (similar to the BAS foldup rear seats). Light, works well.
My C150TD has no carpeting or anything else on the floor. My old C170 had old thin worn-out carpet that didn't weigh much,. A buddy of mine uses cardboard for floor covering- maybe the ultimate in utility, fairly light and easily replaceable.
I knew a guy who gutted his C170 interior to save weight-- he painted a lot of the bare metal with a mottled grey & white coating, kinda like what they use inside ovens. Looked good & added hardly any weight at all. Another friend is planning on using kydex (sp?) for a lot of the interior in his Pacer project-- easily cut and formed plastic that hopefully won't weigh too much.

[n6zt offline]

For those of you who haven't read the following post, take a look. The interior work done on this 185 is amazing, as is the whole plane. http://supercub.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... hlight=185

[Bighorn offline]

Anybody use rubber matting on the floor? What kind and where did you get it?

[gbflyer offline]

http://www.aipsource.com/prodcat.aspx?Id=14&page=8024

[Bighorn offline]

on it


Thanks

[flynbeekeeper offline]

Awesome looking interiors! That is just what my 206 interior is looking like. Currently installing the Selkirk 1/2" insulation kit. The airplane already had the factory zinc oxide interior.
After removing the Altimatic III autopilot, associated servos and harness, the Collins RNAV/DME, ADF, KCS55 HSI, KX 170B and unknown model Collins NAV/Com then installing GPS 696, SL30, I am looking at close to 70 pound gain. The interior will save another 30 or so. The seats are next, thanks for the info on the seat rebuild. With the Flint tip tanks I gain a gross weight increase to 3800 so I now have a usefull load of 1700#'s!!

[shortfielder offline]

check this thread out. This fella built/had built an awesome plane. He put a nice light weight interior in it.
http://supercub.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... 85&start=0