Interior Renovation

Renovation of the interior of our Piper Warrior, N313DC.

19-31 Jul 2017 - After months of work, 3DC headed out on her West Coast travels with a beautiful like-new interior! We flew from Renton to Roseburg, OR, then on to Santa Rosa, San Luis Obispo, Fullerton, Camarillo and Concord, CA. 3DC flew extremely well, and the new interior was a hit with all of our flying guests! After months of minimal flying, we enjoyed 23.6 hours of flight time in the last two weeks of July. 3DC is back!

18 Jul 2017 - Final full day of work to finish the interior renovation of N313DC - for now! Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Installed 8 snaps on the center pedestal carpet, trimmed the edges, installed 4 major heat duct silver trim pieces, installed the trim/flap cover, re-installed new screws for the extinguisher holder, added 5 screws to the forward upper side panel trim, re-installed the front seats, cleaned out Dave Cummings hangar, tossed the old musty major side panels, done for now! We're headed to California with 3DC for two weeks of family and flying, photos later!

17 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at Jan Stroh's shop. Re-bound the pilot side main carpet, two aft carpets and the center console carpet. Sewed the black leather handstrap and baggage door strap. Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Installed the fire extinguisher mount with longer screws, put down the front and aft seat top carpets. Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Added an extra strip to the top door seal, installed the aft baggage fence, inflated tires for the California cross-country. Mark and Deb flew an evening cross-country, new door seal and wi-fi light covers worked well.

16 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Installed the two silver strips for the baggage entry, screwed in the two forward silver ducts (not an easy job in the dark, enclosed space), installed the black plastic bar covers in front of the seats, measured and trimmed the center pedestal carpet, measured the pilot side main rug and two aft rugs for trimming and re-binding.

13 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Re-installed the back seat assembly, cleaned and treated the leather and attached the aft seat cushions. Mary added velcro retainers to the overhead shoulder straps. Installed the aft comm box through the new carpet, with new cover screws for the top.

12 Jul 2017 - Stan at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Added foam/insulation in the now-vacated ELT space behind the pilot side panel, installed the pilot side armrest. Measured and trimmed the center pedestal carpet for addition of new binding, test fit carpet into the channel retainer clip.

10 Jul 2017 - Mark at home. Cut the lower instrument panel plastic and mounted the ELT control panel. Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Dyed the glareshield with black dye to minimize glare and reflections. Installed the lower instrument panel plastic with the mounted ELT control panel, installed the alternate static source to the gray panel below the instrument panel, including labels. Screwed on the covers on the pilot side panel for the primary static source, vent and fuel selector, along with a screw in the carpet area next to the pilot's left rudder pedal. Installed decals for the door latch.

9 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Stan re-glued the top aft leather corner on the pilot side panel to match the aft section line, glued more of the door seal in place, took photos and measurements to trim the center pedestal carpet. Mark prepped the lower instrument panel plastic to cut a hole for the ELT panel, drilled holes through the pilot side carpet to attach the fire extinguisher mounting bracket.

8 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Trimmed, fit and velcro'd on the vertical carpet section under the aft seats, great fit and finish. Installed the front pilot side major panel, the last major upgrade piece is in!! Connected the pilot lap belt and started on the pitot static cover.

7 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at home. Glued the foam padding from the old side panel, then trimmed, formed and glued the leather on the plastic formers on the entire large pilot side forward panel. Mary sewed all 16 edges of the velcro on the aft seat back, reinforcing the attachment velcro for the seatback cushions, which had been pulling away from the aft seat back.

6 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Cut and trimmed all the access holes on the front pilot side major panel, test fit, cleco'd and riveted the plastic former on the upper part of the panel, for leather wrapping.

5 Jul 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Installed the front co-pilot side major panel, installed the seat belt attachment through the new carpet side section, installed the lower vent cover and re-installed the door entry strip. Only a few screws are needed to complete the forward side panel installation, since the rest is secured by the instrument panel and door strip.

1 Jul 2017 - Stan at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Test fit the right forward side panel with the leather attached, great fit on top. Cut out holes in the lower carpet section for the vent and vent control, plus a cutout for the lower structure in front of the seats. Replaced all 16 screws on the seat rail attachment brackets under both front seats with new matching stainless screws.

30 Jun 2017 - Stan and Mary at home. Shaped, trimmed and glued the leather on the plastic former on the co-pilot side forward panel.

28 Jun 2017 - Stan at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Unwrapped and aligned the right front major side panel, drilled and riveted the upper plastic former, in preparation for leather wrapping.

27 Jun 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Removed all the seats to provide access. Aligned, drilled and screwed in the large pilot side aft panel, very nice fit. Test-fit the major pilot side front leather panel, lots of cutouts to align correctly. Stan and Chris Marshall flew 3DC to Bremerton for flight recurrency for Chris as he completes his panel upgrade on his Cessna 152. Also did some beta-testing of the augmented reality in-flight views from FlyQ Insight.

21 Jun 2017 - Stan and Mary at home. Glued the leather on the plastic formers on the entire large pilot side aft panel, attached weather stripping to the underside of the front black cover plastic, trimmed foam from the front and baggage area carpets. Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Re-installed the trimmed front carpets, replaced the short arm rest screws with 2-1/2 inch new ones, providing a cleaner fit and less leather compression. Stan and Mary flew 3DC to Tacoma Narrows for a late lunch at the Hub, first flight since all the instrument panel plastic and leather were updated. 3DC flies great - and ADS-B works perfectly!

20 Jun 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Re-mixed Jan's Landau Top Cement with MEK to allow fastening of the leather to the aft panel plastic formers. Inserted small carpet strips on the inside of the front seat rails, tried sizing the front panel plastic attachments, but need all seats removed to go further with the front panels. Bought 4 longer arm rest screws at McLendon's to replace the current too-short screws.

17-18 Jun 2017 - Mark flew friends to Victoria, BC, then flew them back from Port Angeles after fog socked in Victoria. The upper interior looks great in-flight!

16 Jun 2017 - Stan, Mary and Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Prepared for flying to Canada. Mounted the cleaned visors, Mark buffed off corrosion and painted the aft comm box black. Searched but couldn't locate the 4 long arm rest screws, Stan and Mary bought 4 replacements at McLendon, Mark installed the arm rests.

14 Jun 2017 - Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot - Installed the completed side panel for the aft seat on the co-pilot's side, and installed the leather trim strip around the entry door. Re-installed the aft seat base and back, and velcro'd the seat cushions in place.

13 Jun 2017 - Mary - Used leather needles and a friend's industrial sewing machine to sew together the 4 black leather coverings for the aft seat belts, cleaned the glue residue from the co-pilot visor. Stan and Mary trimmed the foam under the front carpet sections, then dropped off the leather seat belt covers and the forward carpets at 3DC at Renton, and found the misplaced white rubber visor holders in the black bin beside the Warrior.

11 Jun 2017 - Stan, Mary and Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Mounted the last section of plastic trim on the lower instrument panel, and installed the lower leather trim and comm connections to the panel. Mark installed the throttle cover and primed the main door lower trim strip. Stan and Mary trimmed and glued the vertical carpet sections on either side of the forward console, and Mark installed in the front lower console plastic.

10 Jun 2017 - Mark at 3DC's Renton parking slot - Installed the painted interior door latch, and installed all the black-painted instrument panel plastic, with new placards. Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot - Cut holes in the under panel leather trim, and installed it while contorted under the instrument panel.

9 Jun 2017 - Stan and Mary, at home. Glued the leather covering on the elongated plastic part, which sits over the baggage compartment and under the aft window. Adjusted the plastic formers, drilled alignment holes, and riveted them securely to the large aft pilot-side leather panel.

8 Jun 2017 - Stan and Mary, at home. Removed more glue from the panels under the instrument panel plastic, glued on a foam padding, then glued on new gray leather covering for the units.

30 May 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Cleaned dirt and residue from the sidewall/firewall joint, after removing the upper and side cowls. Applied Sikaflex 295 sealant completely around the upper and side joints, to waterproof the most likely cockpit water entry zones. Positioned, cleco'd and riveted two curved plastic formers on top of the new pilot side aft leather sidewall.

29 May 2017 - Stan and Mary, at home, removed the glue and vinyl from the panels under the instrument panel plastic, trimmed leather for replacement. Mark, at home, prepared and sprayed the instrument panels, throttle quadrant cover, and door latch cover black, and re-installed new labels and placards.

28 May 2017 - Stan and Mary, purchased Sikaflex 295 UV sealant for the firewall/fuselage leak at West Marine. Cleaned up and disposed of all the old/mildewed carpet and side panels from 3DC that were stored Dave Cumming's hangar. Saved only the side panels that still need installation, to double-check the cutout locations for the new panels.

27 May 2017 - Mark cleaned the kick panels with a wire brush, primed and painted them for installation.

25 May 2017 - Stan and Mary, in our parking spot. Poured six buckets of water to help identify the cockpit leak path, worked with Larry Reinecke to narrow the probable leak path to the seam between the external skin and the channel around the firewall. Will plan to clean the area and apply Sikaflex 295 sealant.

24 May 2017 - Stan, in our parking spot. Worked with Jan Stroh to cut and glue the last leather portions on the sidewall in front of the co-pilot's baggage area, great fit. Remove the back seat base and fit the large aft side leather panel with Jan, marking the upper portion and two plastic pieces on the top for riveting. Dan Cummings helped flatten the wavy plastic, and applied more CA/fiberglass to the weak and/or cracked sections, then sanded them smooth.

23 May 2017 - Stan and Mary, then Mark, in our parking spot. Taxied 3DC behind the 850 hangar for water access, hosed down the nose section to try to isolate the front cockpit leak. Mary identified seepage into the right front floor area, coming from the right panel area near the air vent opening. Still no water path confirmed yet, but getting closer. Installed the last of the front cockpit overhead plastic around the main canopy area. Removed the upper cockpit instrument panel plastic trim for painting, then Mark removed the remaining lower panel and console plastic trim, all to be painted flat black. Removed the brown vinyl trim under the front panel, to be recovered in gray leather.

21 May 2017 - Stan and Mary. After not flying since 31 March, 3DC was itching to get back into the air. With perfect weather, and some re-installation of seat belts, flap/trim covers, fire bottle, etc, we flew for 2.5 hours to Bremerton for halibut, then sightseeing all around the great Northwest, with 3DC purring the entire flight! "Some assembly still required", but 3DC is flying well!

19 May 2017 - Stan in Dave Cummings' hangar. Inserted all the carpets and rugs for the first time, good fit check. Installed both front seats, good seat travel for both with the new carpeting in place. Replaced over a dozen of the old #4 washers with new ones on the door, replaced the main door pins with two new ones from Larry, providing less wiggle of the door on its hinges. Moved 3DC back outside to her parking slot.

18 May 2017 - Stan and Mary in Dave Cummings' hangar. Attached the cleaned window edging, then installed the aft and middle plastic sections on both side of the cockpit. Jan Stroh showed us how to use Cleco fasteners for alignment, then drilled and riveted the curved plastic sections on the top of the co-pilot side panel forward of the baggage compartment. Glued a thin foam layer and leather to the curved top section.

17 May 2017 - Stan and Mary in Dave Cummings' hangar. Test fit the center and edge underseat carpets that had been worked at Jan's and Mary's, great fit. Glued the foam to the carpets. Test fit the front large carpet panels, also a great fit after trimming. Attached the left and right shoulder harness plastic covers, after substituting #6 screws and washers for the ill-fitting original #4s. Mark stopped by the hangar and dropped off a bag of #4 finish washers.

10 May 2017 - Stan and Mary at 3DC's Renton parking slot. Worked with Larry Reinecke to free the stuck cabin door, found the screws at the upper door holding the plastic were rubbing on the aluminum edging, which has been pushed out by the new airframe-mounted door seal. Removed the two offending screws, and will assess the seal and less bulging screws, but the cabin door now closes normally. Jan Stroh stopped by and delivered our two new leather-covered armrests, used new screws for mounting the leather section. Stan and Mary trimmed the carpets for the underseat section, and the trimmed the two floor carpets under the rudder pedal section.

8 May 2017 - Stan and Mary at Jan Stroh's workshop. Took off center carpet binding on one edge, cut back about 1/4 inch, Jan re-sewed the binding on both carpets. Took apart the door handles, removed the old rusty ash trays, covered the area, built up foam for Jan to add new leather covers. Trimmed and glued velcro to two front cockpit carpet edging sections.

7 May 2017 - Stan and Mary in Dave Cummings' hangar. Removed the old plastic former at the base of all the side panels other than the door, repaired the cracked pieces with new fiberglass. Cleaned up the hangar and moved 3DC back to her outdoor parking spot, started the engine for a warmup. Had issues with the door fit, removed the extra edging from Spanaflight, still have door opening and closing issues.

6 May 2017 - Stan and Mary in Dave Cummings' hangar. Cleaned and installed the edging rubber around the entry door inner plastic, greased/oiled and installed the upper entry handle, then screwed in all the leather and plastic. Good rule of thumb - grease for sliding parts, and oil for rotating parts. Re-installed the door on 3DC, still need the lower door handle hardware.

5 May 2017 - Stan and Jan Stroh in Dave Cummings' hangar. Started panel installation on the main entry door. Removed the old plastic former at the base of the window, repaired the cracked pieces with new fiberglass. With Jan, cut out a thin foam layer from the old door material, glued it onto the plastic former, then glued that to the new leather. Used the hole finder to drill holes and screw in all new attachments, securing the new leather panel to the door. Fit check the door on the fuselage, no issues with the new leather panel. Used Larry's help to add two screws to the top of the leather panel to secure everything correctly.

4 May 2017 - Stan and Mary in Dave Cummings' hangar. Trimmed the baggage compartment carpet foam layer, and trail fit the foam and new carpet in the baggage area. Installed the rear bracket, with added felt insulation, in the aft part of the new overhead channel, and seated the sleeve edging into the forward section. Removed the four aluminum edgings from the footwell by the rudder pedals, with very hard to access screws. Scraped off more old soundproofing and corrosion. Removed the cabin entry door for tomorrow's planned side panel and plastic installation.

3 May 2017 - Stan and Mark in Dave Cummings' hangar. Repaired the cracked plastic on the entry door with the help of Chris Marshall, our hangar mate upgrading his Cessna 150. Mark and Stan unhooked the vent cable aft of the baggage compartment, installed it into the new channel, then installed the new overhead channel and louvers with new washers.

2 May 2017 - Stan in Dave Cummings' hangar. Buffed out the remaining corrosion in the aft baggage compartment, buffed and wire-brushed corrosion in a few areas in the front cockpit. Spray painted SEM primer on the remainder of the polished area in the aft baggage compartment. Mark brought in all the painted plastic parts. Mark and Stan installed and ops checked the newly painted overhead console.

1 May 2017 - Stan and Mary, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Finally removed the rusted and corroded screws from the comm box in the aft baggage compartment, allowing removal of the old carpet. Mary used OxiClean to wash on all the white cabin material. Met with Jan and Bob Stroh, who suggested cleaning the corrosion all around the aft baggage compartment floor, then received pointers on carpet trimming and sizing in the front carpet area. Scraped out all the old foam under the metal plates in the front cockpit. Dave Cummings demonstrated sanding the corrosion, then sprayed a sample of SEM primer to stop future corrosion. Stan, Mary and Mark got to fly with Dave Cummings and his boss Chris in Albatross N44HQ, enjoying the classic radial-engined bird while flying two water landings on Lake Washington.

30 Apr 2017 - Stan and Mary, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Removed the front and side carpets from the front section, under the rudder pedals and against the inside kick panel. Scraped and vacuumed all the old glued foam from the metal plates. Unscrewed all the aluminum plates from along the center console, and removed the trim/flap handle plastic cover.

26 Apr 2017 - Mark - Installed the new louvers that Stan purchased in the newly painted overhead panel.

23 Apr 2017 - Mark - Built a paint booth in his garage and spray painted all the plastic parts with SEM 5244 gray paint.

21 Apr 2017 - Parts received - Stan - Two Sun Visor Retainers, from Aircraft Spruce, which carries white retainers, made from a blended poly-plastic with a UV additive that will prevent UV corrosion - total $37.36.

21 Apr 2017 - Parts received - Stan - Two replacement louvers for the overhead console from PAST, V136-349 Vent Assembly-Louver - total $46.49.

20 Apr 2017 - Parts purchased - Mark - SEM 5244 gray paint - total $130.

8 Apr 2017 - Stan and Mary, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Boxed up all the parts bags and small material, and placed the box in the back of 3DC, then stacked all the old and new material along the side of Dave Cummings hangar. Towed 3DC back outside in her normal B-2 parking slot, covered, with two desiccant containers in the back, and a bit of tape over the baggage compartment latch and the door handle hole to reduce rain seepage.

6 Apr 2017 - Stan and Mary, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Mary found the long-lost rear seat belt bushing, in the opening aft of the battery compartment! Mary scrubbed the aft battery compartment bay under the aft seat bench. Mark stopped by, removed the overhead console, and took all the plastic parts that were removed yesterday for painting at his home. Stan removed the forward co-pilot side panel and carpeting, and the co-pilot vent.

6 Apr 2017 - Parts purchased - Dave - 3M 8074 Adhesive for $25.29.

5 Apr 2017 - Stan and Dave, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Removed nearly all the plastic trim in the entire aircraft, except for the overhead panel, which was removed but re-attached, since it has connectors that need TLC to remove. Removed the back of the aft seat, allowing the last of the plastic trim removal. Only a few panel screws remain, and some front carpet removal. More good progress.

4 Apr 2017 - Stan, Dave and Mark, in Dave Cummings' hangar, first time together in many years. Removed the rest of the center carpet sections, then disassembled the panel and plastics on the entry door and the forward left side panel, including the ELT control, unscrewed the fire bottle bracket. Removed more carpeting, foam and glue along the floor outboard of the seat rails. Good progress.

2 Apr 2017 - Stan, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Removed the front seats, removed the old center carpet section under the right seat, scraped the foam and glue from the sheet metal plate below the right seat, removed part of the left center carpet and foam.

31 Mar 2017 - Stan flew 3DC to SpanaFlight for re-rigging of the elevator trim. Mark flew later in the afternoon, he parked 3DC in Dave Cummings' hangar for the week.

28 Mar 2017 - Stan and Mary met with Jan Stroh in her workshop on Phinney Rd in North Seattle, showed Jan our interior kit from TN Wings, and arranged to meet at 3DC in the coming week. We stopped by Dave Cummings' hangar in Renton, and Dave said we'd have hangar space available starting Saturday, 1 Apr.

Background for yoke reconditioning: $635 for the pair at Sair Corp. During the reconditioning, I'd like to add a Push-To-talk switch on the right grip for the right yoke.

Possibly purchase a new 406Mhz ELT, prior to cutting the switch holes in the left pilot's panel. An option is the ACK ELT from Aircraft Spruce. The side switch panel looks similar to our current ELT.

1 Jan 2017 - Stan and Mary, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Installed the back bulkhead cover that Mary cleaned yesterday at home, Q-tip cleaned corrosion in aft headset container again, vacuumed and re-installed front seats.

31 Dec 2016 - Stan and Dave, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Q-tip cleaned corrosion in the aft headset container, cleaned mildew off the back bulkhead. Cut the center carpet, trimmed and installed the new flap handle cover and installed the new windshield center trim, which were both cracked and needed replacing. The flap handle cover was $110.14 at PAST. Order date: 19 Dec 2016. Received date: 23 Dec 2016. The windshield center trim part number is K67556-4 for $24.63 at PAST. Order date: 19 Dec 2016. Received date: 23 Dec 2016.

30 Dec 2016 - Stan and Dave, in Dave Cummings' hangar. Removed the edging around the aft carpeting, lots of corrosion on the wide strip behind the seats, extensive corrosion inside the floor-mounted box housing the rear seat headset jacks, cleaned out most of the corrosion. Removed the old cracked Overhead Vent Duct, tried replacing with part number K99541-02, with new vents and a push-pull recess for $144.65 at PAST. Order date: 19 Dec 2016. Received date: 23 Dec 2016. Need to understand how to remove the push/pull handle before we can re-install. Removed the cracked trim covers, in the forward cockpit under the seats, waiting to re-install until the front carpet work is finished. The trim covers were $38.45 each at PAST. Order date (for 2): 19 Dec 2016. Received date: 23 Dec 2016.

18 Aug 2016 - Floor mats, glare shield covering, a booster seat and extra leather for the front lower instrument panel arrived from Shelby Isham/TN Wings, to finish off the original package. Note: For carpet installation, it's best to use 3M 8074 spray contact adhesive. O'Reilly Auto Parts carries 3M 8074.

23 Apr-10 May 2016 - All four seats were stripped, cleaned, painted, recovered in memory foam and leather using the interior kit from Shelby Isham/TN Wings, and re-installed, with outstanding support from Walt Cannon.