Front louvers for Cherokee/Archer overhead vents?

I checked the Piper Owner's Society, which we are members of. The only
thing I found in their chat files was a Seneca overhead vent grill (which
may or may not be the same part). The price quoted was $1100 each! The
long vents from the rear will not fit in the front, so our A&P tells me.
There is not a long enough flat surface in the front duct for the longer
louver to fit correctly, even if the hole is elongated. Also, I believe the
front grill is wider than those in the rear. Our plastic is in great
condition. I suspect it was replaced when the interior was done a few years
ago. OTOH, they apparently used the original grills, probably because they
couldn't get new ones at a reasonable price. The guy who makes the plastic
eyeball vents is sending me a sample. If I can make it work, I'll post a
message on the Piper chat sites.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:SJzSb.191495$na.317899@attbi_s04...
Bob, the best I've found is to simply bust the old ones out, enlarge the
holes, and install the longer louvers.

I haven't done that -- yet -- but only because my original louvers are
still
hanging in there, barely.

I *do* have experience cutting the holes for these louvers, though. With
a
dremel tool it's not too bad, in a tedious sort of way, and if your
plastic
is not too ancient and brittle. If it is, you'll find that it will simply
shatter when you try to handle it.

At which point, you might as well replace the whole ceiling plastic air
duct/light/speaker assembly. Doing this took me about 8 hours, although I
could probably do it in four now.

By the way -- check out the Cherokee Pilot's Association website (and
"Cherokee Chat" -- their members-only chat room) -- it is great for this
kind of stuff! It's at www.piperowner.com .
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"