Interior Customization

IMHO, it's the little things that really set off an airplane's interior.
MU-2 Mike has done things like gold-plating his chrome parts, and I've seen
plenty of wood-grained panels in custom planes that look terrific.

Having recently had our interior completely redone in leather, we were very
satisfied with the results. Still, although beautifully crafted, our
interior lacked that little extra "something" that really sets it apart from
the herd.

Having had some experience hand-tooling leather -- and having an ample
supply of leather scraps left over from our recent leather seat
installation -- I started casting around for something to cover with dead
cow.

The yokes were (and are) an obvious "target". However, I only had a few
hours to devote to the project. So, my eyes fell on the throttle quadrant,
specifically the "T-shifter" throttle control in our '74 Pathfinder.

Your right hand spends a lot of time on this particular control, and the
tacky Piper plastic always bothered me. I really thought the tactile feel
of leather would be especially nice when beating the air with those 235
horses! Realizing that it would have to be a very snug fit, and sturdy as
iron, I started cutting out little paper patterns to try and get a perfect
fit.

Once accomplished, it was then a matter of cutting out the leather, and
hand-fitting it to the throttle. After a couple of adjustments, I began
laying out the thread holes.

This may be surprising, but as anyone who works with leather knows, it's
tough stuff. Pushing even a giant leather needle through two layers of the
stuff is really hard work, and it's easy to lose your symmetrical spacing.
Thus, the solution is to pre-punch the holes in advance.

Since this would be a pretty small cover, the stitching would be an
important part of the design. If you make it look TOO perfect, it'll end up
looking like a glued-on piece of vinyl! So, the holes had to be
deliberate, fairly prominent, and the stitch used would have to be somewhat
decorative.

There is always a problem with fitting round "ends" that results from having
too many (or few) stitch holes versus the number of holes in the "flat"
parts. Getting the exact number of holes punched in both sides is often
easier said than done, and requires careful planning.

Then you punch 'em -- one at a time. I used a jeweler's screwdriver, and
hammer, and a block of wood. Measure and pre-mark the holes with a pen, and
then just start punching away...

The stitching takes a little practice to get the "look" you want. Mary
could tell you what the stitch is properly called -- I just call it a
"knot-stitch". It's strong, kind of decorative, and easy to do. Getting
the tension even all the way around is the hardest part.

Well, almost. Actually the hardest part is doing the last 20 or so
stitches, laying on the floor looking at the bottom of the throttle. My
neck and shoulder muscles get knotted up pretty easily, so that took a
while -- but the end results turned out pretty good, IMHO. See the
finished product at http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_interior.htm .

It's pictured in the four pix at the bottom of the gallery.

Personally, I think it looks great, but would look better with a darker
leather, but the light gray matches my seats and upholstery. The throttle
has a really nice "feel" to it now -- certainly better than the cheap
plastic knob -- and Atlas flies at LEAST five knots faster because of it!

Best of all NO ONE has one, to my knowledge. (I think that's a good thing?
:-)

When I have half a day, I'll start on the yokes. THAT'S going to be tough,
cuz I don't want them to look like the commercially available ones that
leave the top of the yokes uncovered. I want them to fit like a glove, and
cover the whole thing... I'm figuring at least four hours per yoke, maybe
more... (Which means it may never happen...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I have machined and anodized knobs for the condition (prop) levers and
throttle locks. Also have a powder coated parking brake handle. Small
touches can make a big difference. I have pictures but nowhere to post
them.

Mike
MU-2


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:5Hxvb.266294$HS4.2378202@attbi_s01...
IMHO, it's the little things that really set off an airplane's interior.
MU-2 Mike has done things like gold-plating his chrome parts, and I've
seen
plenty of wood-grained panels in custom planes that look terrific.

Having recently had our interior completely redone in leather, we were
very
satisfied with the results. Still, although beautifully crafted, our
interior lacked that little extra "something" that really sets it apart
from
the herd.

Having had some experience hand-tooling leather -- and having an ample
supply of leather scraps left over from our recent leather seat
installation -- I started casting around for something to cover with dead
cow.

The yokes were (and are) an obvious "target". However, I only had a few
hours to devote to the project. So, my eyes fell on the throttle
quadrant,
specifically the "T-shifter" throttle control in our '74 Pathfinder.

Your right hand spends a lot of time on this particular control, and the
tacky Piper plastic always bothered me. I really thought the tactile feel
of leather would be especially nice when beating the air with those 235
horses! Realizing that it would have to be a very snug fit, and sturdy as
iron, I started cutting out little paper patterns to try and get a perfect
fit.

Once accomplished, it was then a matter of cutting out the leather, and
hand-fitting it to the throttle. After a couple of adjustments, I began
laying out the thread holes.

This may be surprising, but as anyone who works with leather knows, it's
tough stuff. Pushing even a giant leather needle through two layers of
the
stuff is really hard work, and it's easy to lose your symmetrical spacing.
Thus, the solution is to pre-punch the holes in advance.

Since this would be a pretty small cover, the stitching would be an
important part of the design. If you make it look TOO perfect, it'll end
up
looking like a glued-on piece of vinyl! So, the holes had to be
deliberate, fairly prominent, and the stitch used would have to be
somewhat
decorative.

There is always a problem with fitting round "ends" that results from
having
too many (or few) stitch holes versus the number of holes in the "flat"
parts. Getting the exact number of holes punched in both sides is often
easier said than done, and requires careful planning.

Then you punch 'em -- one at a time. I used a jeweler's screwdriver, and
hammer, and a block of wood. Measure and pre-mark the holes with a pen,
and
then just start punching away...

The stitching takes a little practice to get the "look" you want. Mary
could tell you what the stitch is properly called -- I just call it a
"knot-stitch". It's strong, kind of decorative, and easy to do. Getting
the tension even all the way around is the hardest part.

Well, almost. Actually the hardest part is doing the last 20 or so
stitches, laying on the floor looking at the bottom of the throttle. My
neck and shoulder muscles get knotted up pretty easily, so that took a
while -- but the end results turned out pretty good, IMHO. See the
finished product at http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_interior.htm .

It's pictured in the four pix at the bottom of the gallery.

Personally, I think it looks great, but would look better with a darker
leather, but the light gray matches my seats and upholstery. The throttle
has a really nice "feel" to it now -- certainly better than the cheap
plastic knob -- and Atlas flies at LEAST five knots faster because of it!

Best of all NO ONE has one, to my knowledge. (I think that's a good
thing?
:-)

When I have half a day, I'll start on the yokes. THAT'S going to be
tough,
cuz I don't want them to look like the commercially available ones that
leave the top of the yokes uncovered. I want them to fit like a glove,
and
cover the whole thing... I'm figuring at least four hours per yoke, maybe
more... (Which means it may never happen...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I have machined and anodized knobs for the condition (prop) levers and
throttle locks. Also have a powder coated parking brake handle. Small
touches can make a big difference. I have pictures but nowhere to post
them.

Hey Mike -- I'd love to see them.

Tell you what: Email 'em to me, and I'll upload them onto our webpage --
which resides on Jav Henderson's server.

(How's THAT for a collaborative effort? :-)

Just gotta take "NOSPAM" out of my address...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have machined and anodized knobs for the condition (prop) levers and
throttle locks. Also have a powder coated parking brake handle. Small
touches can make a big difference. I have pictures but nowhere to post
them.

Mike
MU-2


Awwww. Post to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation

Doesn't Earthlink give you web space? You can probably pull the pics without
html.
In a pinch, get a free yahoo site and upload the pics. I'll write the HTML
for you if necessary.

OK I just posted a picture to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation under "test".
The custom parts in that photo are the pulls on the sliding blinds and the
speaker bezels. Both were fabricated from birdseye maple to match the other
woodwork. I also posted a panel photo showing the condition lever knobs and
throttle lock knobs (purple) and the parking brake handle. If you go to
http://www.aso.com/i.aso/AircraftVie...craft_id=77758 and click on the
panel and interior shots, you can compare these with the stock parts.

Mike
MU-2

"Pepperoni" wrote in message
...

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have machined and anodized knobs for the condition (prop) levers and
throttle locks. Also have a powder coated parking brake handle. Small
touches can make a big difference. I have pictures but nowhere to post
them.

Mike
MU-2


Awwww. Post to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation

Doesn't Earthlink give you web space? You can probably pull the pics
without
html.
In a pinch, get a free yahoo site and upload the pics. I'll write the
HTML
for you if necessary.

OK I just posted a picture to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation under "test".
The custom parts in that photo are the pulls on the sliding blinds and the
speaker bezels. Both were fabricated from birdseye maple to match the
other
woodwork. I also posted a panel photo showing the condition lever knobs
and
throttle lock knobs (purple) and the parking brake handle. If you go to
http://www.aso.com/i.aso/AircraftVie...craft_id=77758 and click on
the
panel and interior shots, you can compare these with the stock parts.

Crikey! I'm glad I've got a cable modem! (You might have knocked down
those file sizes a bit, eh? (Gosh, I love getting to say that to someone
else for a change... ;-)

Those are some pretty slick knobs, Mike -- great looking interior! The
knobs really set the panel/throttle quadrant off nicely. I especially like
the purple one. Did you have to get any kind of field approval to change
the knobs on the throttle and mixture controls from the originals?

Interesting -- I see you've got sheepskin seat covers. I'm still trying to
sell mine (if anyone wants them, they're custom cut to fit the high-back
Cherokee seats) -- and only looked at them as a stop-gap measure before I
could get my seats re-upholstered.

I assume you like the fleece better than what's underneath them?

And the gold-plated stuff looks great, BTW!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Sorry about the file sizes, how does one shrink them?

The sheepskin is not a seat cover, the seating surfaces of the seat are
actually sheepskin died to match the rest of the leather.. All of the large
jets I have seen are this way and it is really comfortable.

Mike
MU-2


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
newshXvb.282480$Fm2.292903@attbi_s04...
OK I just posted a picture to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation under
"test".
The custom parts in that photo are the pulls on the sliding blinds and
the
speaker bezels. Both were fabricated from birdseye maple to match the
other
woodwork. I also posted a panel photo showing the condition lever knobs
and
throttle lock knobs (purple) and the parking brake handle. If you go to
http://www.aso.com/i.aso/AircraftVie...craft_id=77758 and click on
the
panel and interior shots, you can compare these with the stock parts.

Crikey! I'm glad I've got a cable modem! (You might have knocked down
those file sizes a bit, eh? (Gosh, I love getting to say that to someone
else for a change... ;-)

Those are some pretty slick knobs, Mike -- great looking interior! The
knobs really set the panel/throttle quadrant off nicely. I especially
like
the purple one. Did you have to get any kind of field approval to change
the knobs on the throttle and mixture controls from the originals?

Interesting -- I see you've got sheepskin seat covers. I'm still trying
to
sell mine (if anyone wants them, they're custom cut to fit the high-back
Cherokee seats) -- and only looked at them as a stop-gap measure before I
could get my seats re-upholstered.

I assume you like the fleece better than what's underneath them?

And the gold-plated stuff looks great, BTW!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

It sure is purty...... The gold screws and fittings may be considered a bit
flashy to the working crowd, but, hey.....................

To shrink the file size, merely open the pic in your photo program and hit
"resize" (usually under "edit", but it varies) If you reduce the width by
half, it will reduce the file size by 75% or more. (click "keep aspect
ratio" to reduce the width and height proportionally) change the file name
slightly to prevent overwriting your original when you save the changes.
JPEG is greatly preferred over bitmaps (.bmp) If you don't have a photo
editor, there are plenty of freebies out there.

Actually, in the photo groups they don't mind the large files too much; it
improves the detail, and they have to learn to read the file size eventually
anyways. It's in writing web pages that file size really matters. In the
binary groups they appreciate quality and sharpness more than fast download
time.

Now that you've found the binary aviation groups, check out
alt.binaries.pictures.military they get some fine and rare pics over
there.

Pepperoni




"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
link.net...
Sorry about the file sizes, how does one shrink them?

The sheepskin is not a seat cover, the seating surfaces of the seat are
actually sheepskin died to match the rest of the leather.. All of the
large
jets I have seen are this way and it is really comfortable.

Mike
MU-2

The sheepskin is not a seat cover, the seating surfaces of the seat are
actually sheepskin died to match the rest of the leather.. All of the
large
jets I have seen are this way and it is really comfortable.

Neat-o. I'd never seen sheepskin "built-in" to a seat before. Mary and I
found that sheepskin fleece is indeed very comfortable, but a bitch to keep
clean. It's also no fun to slide across.

An aside: A few months ago we started an initiative to "post" pictures of
our planes on a dedicated webpage. Jav Henderson offered the server space,
and I can link it to my webpage.

What you've done has given me an idea: Maybe the easiest way to build this
page is for folks to simply post pix of their plane to the binary channel
(alt.binaries.pictures.aviation) and then I'll "pull" the pix from there
onto the website? Eventually we'd have pix of everyone's planes -- which,
after all, is what this group is all about!

How about an external pic of your beautiful bird, Mike, to get the ball
rolling? (Of course, none of us will be able to match your Rolls Royce of
the sky, but what the heck! ;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In article GD3wb.281385$HS4.2481327@attbi_s01, Jay Honeck
wrote:

Neat-o. I'd never seen sheepskin "built-in" to a seat before. Mary and I
found that sheepskin fleece is indeed very comfortable, but a bitch to keep
clean. It's also no fun to slide across.

Jay... winter is coming.
The fleece will be MUCH warmer than the leather.