I've not read that anyone has done this yet;probably for good reason. However I was planning on fiberglasing the overhead console to the cabin top and rear bulkhead. My plans were to finish the joined surfaces and paint all those surfaces the interior color I have chosen. I understand that will be more work than using an adhesive. It seems it would provide a good seal and "seamless" transition between the console, bulkhead and cabin top.
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Overhead console attachment
- Thread starter dspender
- Start date
NovaBandit
Well Known Member
My overhead console is fiberglassed into the cabin top and smoothed out so that it looks like everything is one piece. However, it just sits tight against the baggage bulkhead with a piece of weatherstripping in-between for a tight seal.
You're REALLY going to want to install the console to the cabin top before the cabin top is mounted on the plane if you want to blend it in. I think I would have rather sold the plane than do all that fiberglass and filler work over my head inside the plane, rather than with the cabin top sitting upside down on a bench.
If you then want to fiberglass and blend in the rear flange to the baggage bulkhead, I guess you could... but many people just make a bulkhead cover that covers the whole bulkhead, and also covers the interface between the overhead and the bulkhead.
Here's a video I shot about how I fit my overhead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNUGjxtQ6RI
You're REALLY going to want to install the console to the cabin top before the cabin top is mounted on the plane if you want to blend it in. I think I would have rather sold the plane than do all that fiberglass and filler work over my head inside the plane, rather than with the cabin top sitting upside down on a bench.
If you then want to fiberglass and blend in the rear flange to the baggage bulkhead, I guess you could... but many people just make a bulkhead cover that covers the whole bulkhead, and also covers the interface between the overhead and the bulkhead.
Here's a video I shot about how I fit my overhead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNUGjxtQ6RI
rleffler
Well Known Member
Ed described exactly what I did.
Just make sure you have a tight fit to the bulkhead, then use weather stripping to ensure a tight seal.
I also have a bulkhead cover too.
You also only have to blend in from the joggle forward if you use one of Geoff's headliners. The labor savings alone justifies that purchase.
bob
Just make sure you have a tight fit to the bulkhead, then use weather stripping to ensure a tight seal.
I also have a bulkhead cover too.
You also only have to blend in from the joggle forward if you use one of Geoff's headliners. The labor savings alone justifies that purchase.
bob
rleffler
Well Known Member
And paint it too! It's much easier upside down......
Here a a few pics David. Sorry i do not have any of the installed product but I am very happy with it.
Upside down raw canopy. Sanded down and ready for overhead build
Cheap 1" foam as the form.
Two way taped down, waxed and ready for glassing. I also added a couple wire chases on the canopy where the windscreen attaches that start where the overhead ends at the windscreen.
Wire chase form.
Overhead form and chase ready for glassing.
3 layers of RAF 8.8 oz BID and peel plied.
Popped off and trimmed after cure. The chase's were cut off and permanently installed on the cabin cover.
No photos but after Establishing 8 mounting points, I painted the overhead with faux stone paint out of a rattle can that compliments my interior color. I covered my canopy cover interior with fabric that I ordered with my Interior kit by Flightline Interiors, the cover goes on that. 8 screws holds it in place. I have a few eyeball lights mounted in the overhead along with dimmer switches. I use a Molex disconnect for the lighting when I remove the overhead. It also covers a couple antenna coax cables and connection points for the roof top antenna's.
NovaBandit
Well Known Member
Two way taped down, waxed and ready for glassing. I also added a couple wire chases on the canopy where the windscreen attaches that start where the overhead ends at the windscreen.
Wire chase form.
I also ran conduit for wiring down both windscreen pillars. Two benefits of this are a nice finished look to the inside of the cabin top, and two, I have all kinds of capacity for easily running wires from the panel area up to the overhead, and back to the tail cone if needed (that's how I'm planning on running my GPS antennas)
douglassmt
Well Known Member
Aerosport
+1 for doing all your inside cabin top work before it goes on the plane. I used the Aerosport Products OH console and finished the inside of the entire cabin top without fabric. It is clean, lightweight, and any barf that gets on it is easy to wipe off
If you want to look at my pix, the series where I start the OH console starts about here:
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt346/douglassmt/RV-10 Airplane/RV101475.jpg
The finished product is here:
I'm very happy with it.
+1 for doing all your inside cabin top work before it goes on the plane. I used the Aerosport Products OH console and finished the inside of the entire cabin top without fabric. It is clean, lightweight, and any barf that gets on it is easy to wipe off
If you want to look at my pix, the series where I start the OH console starts about here:
http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt346/douglassmt/RV-10 Airplane/RV101475.jpg
The finished product is here:
I'm very happy with it.
J Twilbeck
Well Known Member
I built my own as well. It's not removable, it's built right into the cabin top, but there are three panels that are removable for access inside the overhead. I wanted a particular type of cabin lighting. I built a lip that runs along the side of the overhead and has LED lighting recessed inside of it. So the light will shine up onto the cabin top and headliner and provide a nice indirect lighting for the cabin. I also have 4 reading lights as well.
I wrote up how I built it on my blog for anyone interested in the details. Don't judge too hard it was my first real fiberglass project.
This is the only picture I have so far of it being closed up.
I wrote up how I built it on my blog for anyone interested in the details. Don't judge too hard it was my first real fiberglass project.
This is the only picture I have so far of it being closed up.
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Concerning the support pole that runs from the cabin top down to the fwd upper skin (just behind the front window) that supports the avionics panel; I suspect I mount a magnetic compass to this support pole. If so, does this need electrical that I should consider at this time? Possibly running the electrical through conduit around the fwd perimeter of the cabin top and window junction to this pole?
NovaBandit
Well Known Member
The only wires that run to a compass would be for lighting, which I would imagine could be a pair of 22 gauge wires.
I mounted a lighted SIRS compass on mine. Drilled a small hole for the wires to come out and just drilled and tapped the support to mount the compass with a couple 8-32 SS screws.
I've had two of these, one for my Cessna and one for my RV-10. I got them both on eBay IIRC at a good price. Took a while to get them. No waiting at AS&S though. They have plenty in stock.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/in/compasses_sirs.html
