Seat/Shoulder Belt Restraints

I put the seat belts in early so I could get a feel for how they would affect me in trying to manipulate controls on the instrument panel.

Boot Cowl Fit-up Continued: Install fabric

I installed Sunbrella material to the inside of the boot cowl to match the firewall interior. I really like the appearance of the fabric much more than simply painting the fiberglass. I then burned holes through existing hole locations and riveted bottom angle supports and fasteners which will hold the front cowling.

Fill and Bleed Brake System

I used an oil pump bottle with attached hose to fill brake lines from bleed valves on the wheels. Worked slick. Filling from the bottom point resulted in very few bubbles. Got on the brakes and, with my Dad's help bleeding the valves, was able to eliminate the mush and get the brake pedals solid. Tried the brakes out in the garage and they work great. I was pumped (no pun intended) that there were no detected leaks in any of the fittings.

Install Throttle Lever Assembly

Installed throttle assembly. Push-pull tube connects fore and aft levers for redundant control.

Install Brake Lines & Cylinders

After installing the rudder pedals, I installed the brake master cylinders and lines. I had hoped to fill the system, but found I need to use a special kind of aviation brake fluid which won't eat the seals. I have it on order and hope to complete next week.

Install Seats

I decided to install the seats so that I could climb in see how things felt. It was hard to determine if the rudder pedals were friction-free enough by using just my hands. After climbing in, my feet confirmed that they feel pretty good.

My Harbor Freight pneumatic riveter crapped out, so had to use a hand puller on stainless steel 3/16" rivets. Only way I could do it was use channel locks to squeeze the gun to generate enough leverage.
Zip ties were used to tension the underside of the seat fabric.

It took a solid day to get this done.

Floorboards & Rudder Pedals: Final Install

Since I'm awaiting Sunbrella fabric material to line the interior of the boot cowl, I decided to final install the rudder pedals and floor boards. The rudder and brake controls are actuated redundantly through push-pull tubes between fore and aft pedals.

Reagan (18 mo) gives the forward control stick a tug.