Interior Wing Closeout

A

Astro John

Well-known member
I've been thinking about an alternative to fabric for the interior wing closeout. With the possibility of going with cies fuel senders, I most likely will eliminate the sight tubes.

I have been doing some preliminary modeling and 3D design. Ideally, I would like to have 2 lemo plugs and 2 air vents on each closeout panel. Possibly some cabin lights and recesses to hold headset controllers and excess wire.

My idea is for a panel that snaps into place on the fuselage tubing. I am really in the spitball phase of thinking about this, and just have something to do while I recover from shoulder surgery.

I'd love to see any alternatives to fabric that anyone has done.
 
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I took some .016 trimmed it to fit inside, painted an riveted. This is my LSA
 

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I've been working on my idea for a week or so now. I realized quickly that the idea I had in my head and reality were not going to match up.

I am working on a hybrid approach, where I fabric in parts, and have a 3D printed insert that snaps in place and has space for Eyeball vents, usb power, map lighting and switches for remote camera power. I am thinking about having a switch at each location for a map light too.

I have attached a few pictures of what is, at this point, my first working prototype. Due to the size of the part, I have only printed the forward half of the co-pilots side. The access holes were just for measuring to see what would fit, and is definitely not the final location for anything. The larger circles are 2" and would be for the eyeball vents. The smaller circles are for USB power and map/reading light mounts. The larger rectangle is sized to fit 3 lighted toggle switches. I will incorporate recessed headset lemo plugs as well, and also something to hold the controls for Bose A30 or similar headsets.

I still need to finalize the cutouts at the upper forward and aft locations to conform to the tubing better. I may add locking mechanism of some sort to hold it from the back side too.

This is printed in PETG, but the final panel will be flame retardant ASA. A full side will weight about .85 lbs each, so 1.7 lbs total.

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I printed the rear one last night. Here it is installed. I still have some tweaking to do, but as a proof of concept, I think this will work.

I won't finalize the position of all the cutouts until I get the fuel lines installed. I may not give each pilot and passenger their own USB charging station, I may only do one each side.


It is fully modular, so I will be able to adjust things whenever I want to. Using flame resistant ASA, each of the 4 panels will cost lest than $15 and they take about 7 hours to print.

I am using a Kobra 3 Max printer, which has a built plate of 420 mm x 420 mm. I will also be able to print text on the panel to label the switches and ports.

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I made a few more tweaks, and mirrored the design to fit the left side. Considering the way the fuselages are manufactured, I figured the fit would be off by a little bit, but it was almost identical.

I've decided to change the way the panels will attach slightly. It should make them lighter and easier to modify once the fabric is in place.

I also threw in the Bearhawk, because why not?


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I think this would comply with the requirements for the FAA warning placard. I guess it would really be up to the Airworthiness Inspector. What do you think?

If I keep it, I would probably outline it and print the text it in red.
 

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TJ_Slice said:
I think this would comply with the requirements for the FAA warning placard. I guess it would really be up to the Airworthiness Inspector. What do you think?

If I keep it, I would probably outline it and print the text it in red.
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I love this! Would you be open to sharing the 3D stl files?

Also, I’m looking at the Cies fuel senders as well. Which ones would you use? I don’t see an experimental version. Did you chat with them about which version to use?

Thanks!
John
 
N204jh said:
I love this! Would you be open to sharing the 3D stl files?

Also, I’m looking at the Cies fuel senders as well. Which ones would you use? I don’t see an experimental version. Did you chat with them about which version to use?

Thanks!
John
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Not yet on the files, but I will when I am done. There is a slight difference between the left and right sides, so you would probably have to modify the design slightly to get a good fit. They are designed with a big printer in mind, but you could use a smaller one if you didn't mind more seams. Each piece is about 400mm long.

I started off in fusion 360, but switched to solidworks because I wanted to learn a little bit about using it.

I haven't looked into the fuel senders yet. I am just going off of a post that discussed Bearhawk doing work on them. I think they were Cies.

I could easily modify the design to incorporate the sight tubes if need be.
 
TJ_Slice said:
I think this would comply with the requirements for the FAA warning placard. I guess it would really be up to the Airworthiness Inspector. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Someday you will have a nervous passenger on board. How we fabricate and where we place the placard effects some passengers confidence and may insight unnecessary safety concerns. I would never put it on the instrument panel using big red font and white background. I made mine small with softer font colors to help them enjoy the magic of flight. Its viewable from both seats, but not super obvious.
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Be data driven. Just follow FAA's Order 8130.2K. Use the exact words and be sure its "In Full View of All Occupants." You can have confidence in the FAA's documents.

I think the inspector would agree we are doing our passengers a favor by complying with the FAA order while making the lable a bit discreet.
 
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This is awesome, Brooks! I've never even thought this was an option, since the experimental's I've flown in or look at their panels online have the bold, stark warning on the panel in front of the co-pilot. Now, I realize we have options and still follow the FAA order. Thanks!
 
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