"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:hCCUb.101328$U%5.507652@attbi_s03...
here.

The challenge is this: Post all the cheap and simple little "tricks" that
you've come up with to make your aircraft or your flying easier, cheaper,
and more comfortable! I'll bet we come up with quite a list of ideas.

Jay,
Here are some of things which I have done and planned to do to
increase storage space and efficiency:
1. Bigger door pockets: In replacing the original material in the
lower panel doors, I also enlarged the pocket areas and made them at
least 4 times as big as the old pockets.
2. We are in the process of making a cockpit organizer to fit between
the two front seats. The space is really narrow (3") so it is next to
impossible to find a box or bag to fit. There are some commercially
available stuffs made out of alumnimum or plexiglass
(http://www.saicorp.com and http://www.cockpitcompanion.com) but they
are quite pricey. I have a bunch of old acrylic printer stands.
Tried to fit one in the plane yesterday and it fit perfectly. With a
bit of modification (adding few dividers using polycarbonate pieces
and acrylic cement), we will have a custom made inexpensive place to
keep our maps, books, hand held gps/radio, fire extinguisher etc.
3. Keeping stuffs organized in the baggage area was a big headache
until today. I had followed this thread and had looked around for
different kind of boxes, cargo nets etc. but nothing seemed suitable.
I wanted something which is lightweight, not too bulky and can hold
everything. Aside from the usual few quarts of oil, wheel chocks and
tow bar, we also have an aero step (indispensable for the strutless
cardinal), a ceramic heater and a big roll of extension cords (also
indispensable for northeast winter flying). Our baggage area is around
32"x32". The largest and bulkiest item is the 25" aero step. The day
before, I happened to think of the huge mesh gear bags which we use to
haul our diving gear. I measured the opening of one and it was just
the right size at 27". The mesh bag is quite heavy duty and the
zippers are of industrial strength (my dive stuffs weigh around 50lbs
dry and probably 50% more when wet). Brought it to the plane today and
was quite pleased to find that everything fit neatly inside the bag.
Now, I don't have to worry about things sliding about and ruin our
newly refurbished interior or get tossed around in turbulence.
We still have a few little projects to do. Rick had cut a hole out
of the plastic box covering the lower console. He planned to fashion
something to attach our water bottle. I am thinking of ways to
convert the two ashtrays in the seat backside plastics into something
useful (coin/candy pockets? barf bag or flower holders? ;-).