Covering for side panels

I'm building an 8QB

My wife doesn't want just a painted interior. She would like some nice fabric covering for the side panels and carpet for the floor so it looks "classy". Hey, it's half her airplane too! I think we can do this without too much weight. But I have a few questions:

1. What fabric to use on the side panels? I would like the stuff that is fireresistant to FAR requirements. Where can I source such fabric?

2. How do I attach the fabric? GBI (the Orndorff's site) suggests a spray on adhesive. Do I just spray the adhesive on the aluminum and stick the fabric on or is there more to it than that (eg foam or wood or cardboard or some other backing for the fabric or some pretreatment of the aluminum)?

3. I haven't run any wiring or static lines or indeed any other tubing yet. I plan on running stuff to the back of the fuselage under the floor and along the side of the fuselage under the longerons. Any thoughts on whether I could cover the wiring runs with the fabric but somehow make it removeable so they can be inspected etc.

4. Any other thoughts on how to make the fabric covering inside look as nice as possible.

Thanks

Ken Stanton
8QB
Messing around with a hundred jobs and not finishing any of them

Well, I got some vinyl for my sidewalls. I made some panels cut to fit in the openings (you could use aluminum, or I used a fire retardent plastic coragated board). Then glued on the fabric with car vynil top adheasive. Seems to be tough enough to hold with the heat.

In some areas I used 1/8 closed cell foam (like wetsuit material) to give it just a bit of padding. It worked fairly nice and made the sides a bit more finished.

I bought some material from the supplier that provides it to some of the other rv interior fabricators. It is fire retardant and has a thin foam backing. It cost me about $50 and I had enough left over to make a baggage area cover. I covered the fwd, side, & rear cabin and the flap housing.

I used the neoprene mesh that you can buy at Lowes in the tool department.
It gives nice padding but is light in weight. It's used as the toolbox shelf liner.
I used this where I needed some padding. You can also double it up on the armrest. I then glued it to a thin aluminum panel. You can bend it to fit snug in the cabin areas. I tried using the 3m spray adhesive but it didn't work well especially if you live in a warm climate. Lowes sells quarts of contact cement. This is great stuff. Much better than the 3m spray. I believe it's the adhesive they use for countertops.

Does anybody use a velcro fastener for sidewall panels?

David

Side panels

On my RV6 I used a rolled and pleated fabric from DJ Lauritsen and glued this to .016" 2024-T3 aluminum with 3m upholstery adhesive (comes in a tube). I put strips of Velcro on the back of the panel and on the inside skin of the RV. The arm rests are covered with a piece of aluminum which is also padded with foam (about 1/4" thick) and fabric. This armrest is held on by one small visible screw & french Washer as well as one hidden screw. Both the armrest & wall Panels come out easily however the velcro I used came with sticky backed tape which, when heated, will soften the tape adhesive and allow the velcro to slide or even let go. This has not been a severe problem as I remove the panel slowly at one corner to slip my hand under the panel and then carefully separate the vecro. In use the panels remain secure & the only time the adhesive will fail is when removing the panel as the velcro will hold better than the glue. It is not perfect but I would rather be able to remove the interior to run wires which I have done once already.

As far as fire rated upholstery for aircraft, the auto industry has the same requirement and most upholstery shops doing vehicle interiors know of the fire standards. Many of their fabrics have already been certified to that standard and there is a good selection available.

Dick DeCramer
N500DD RV6 Slider
125 hours
Northfield, MN

What's a French washer?

"This armrest is held on by one small visible screw & french Washer"

What's it look like?

Thanks